
I love a good chicken curry and find myself looking for different ways to cook chicken. Whether I take inspiration from different chicken curries from regions of India, or dishes I have tried in restaurants, I am always on the lookout for a new chicken curry. For this particular one I wanted a rich creamy curry with all the intense flavours and the most delicate chicken and it ticks all those boxes.
You can enjoy this with chapati or paratha, naan or some rice, the choice is yours. This also keeps well so in case you have any left put it in the fridge and enjoy it in the next 4-5 days.
Serves 6 – 8

For the marinade
- 300 gms natural yogurt
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 6-8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 inch ginger, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp oil (sunflower, rapeseed or mustard oil)
- 8 chicken thighs, skinless and on the bone
- 6 drumsticks, skinless and on the bone
For the curry
- 60 gms almonds
- 3 tbsp whole milk
- 5 onions
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 8 green cardamom pods
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 star anise
- 3 black cardamom pods
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 2 tbsp kasturi methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
Start by marinating the chicken. In a large bowl mix all the spices with the yogurt then add the chicken pieces and make sure to combine it well. Cover and let it rest for an hour or overnight in the fridge.
Put the almonds in a small bowl and cover it with water. Let the almonds soak for an hour or overnight. Now ground it to a smooth paste with some milk.
Heat oil in a pan for shallow frying. Add the onions and cook on medium heat for 10-12 minutes until golden. Drain the onions and collect the extra oil and keep the onions aside.
In the same pan add 2 tbsp of oil back and add the whole spices on low heat and let them sizzle for a few seconds to release the aroma. To this add the marinated chicken and cook this on high heat for 10 minutes to get some colour on the chicken.
Now add the salt and chilli along with the almond paste and 200ml water. Add half the fried onions and make sure to combine everything well. Cover and cook this on medium heat for 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked.
Lastly add the fenugreek leaves and the rest of the onions and serve.
Watch the step by step instructions here –