Murgi Curry (Home-Style Chicken Curry)
30-minute curry — tomato, garam masala, and tender thighs.
Ingredients
- 700 g Chicken thighs
- 2 Onion
- 5 cloves Garlic
- 2 tbsp Ginger
- 400 g Canned tomatoes
- 2 tsp Garam masala
- 1 tsp Ground turmeric
- 1 tsp Ground cumin
- 1 tsp Ground coriander
- 2 tbsp Neutral oil
- 1½ tsp Salt
- 240 g Basmati rice
- 80 ml Heavy cream (optional)
Method
- Rinse the basmati rice until the water runs clear, then cook it in twice its volume of water, covered, until tender and the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
- Finely chop onion. Mince garlic and ginger. Cube the chicken.
- Heat oil. Fry onion until deep golden, 10 minutes.
- Add garlic and ginger; stir 1 minute. Add all the dry spices and toast for 30 seconds.
- Add tomatoes and salt; cook down to a thick masala, 5 minutes.
- Add chicken, coat, and simmer covered on low for 15 minutes. Splash in cream if using.
- Taste, adjust salt, serve over rice.
Tap “Start cooking” for live timers that flag what to get ahead on while something simmers.
About Murgi Curry (Home-Style Chicken Curry)
Murgi curry is the everyday chicken curry of Indian home kitchens — not the rich, restaurant-style gravies of a menu, but the quick, tomato-based version families actually cook on a weeknight. It's built on the foundational Indian technique of frying onions to deep gold, blooming whole-ground spices, then cooking tomatoes down into a thick masala before the chicken ever goes in. Boneless thighs keep it fast and forgiving, staying juicy through the simmer where breast would dry out.
The flavor is warm and layered: garam masala's fragrant sweetness over earthy cumin and coriander, turmeric's gentle bitterness, and the tang of tomato tying the sauce together. A splash of cream at the end is optional but rounds the edges into something mellow and coating. Frying the onions properly and toasting the spices before the liquid goes in are what give this a depth that belies its short cooking time. Served over rice to soak up the masala, it's a genuinely 30-minute dinner that tastes like it took longer.
Murgi Curry (Home-Style Chicken Curry): frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Murgi Curry (Home-Style Chicken Curry)?
A serving has about 760 calories — 36.5g protein, 66.3g carbs, 38g fat, 5.1g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 36.5g of protein, roughly 19% of its calories.
Is Murgi Curry (Home-Style Chicken Curry) gluten-free?
Based on its ingredients, Murgi Curry (Home-Style Chicken Curry) has no gluten-containing components, so it's naturally gluten-free — as always, check that any packaged ingredients you use are certified gluten-free to be safe.
Is Murgi Curry (Home-Style Chicken Curry) dairy-free?
Not as written — it uses Heavy cream. Swapping it for a plant-based alternative makes it dairy-free.
How long does Murgi Curry (Home-Style Chicken Curry) take to make?
About 40 minutes start to finish, but only around 24 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
Do I need every ingredient to make Murgi Curry (Home-Style Chicken Curry)?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out heavy cream — it's optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Murgi Curry (Home-Style Chicken Curry) make?
This recipe makes 4 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.