This comforting curry with spiced chicken and tender potatoes and carrots makes a regular appearance at chef Meherwan Irani’s dinner table. At home, he likes to make double or triple batches of the coconut milk curry (see his recipe for All-Purpose Coconut Curry here) and freeze it in two-cup portions. Then, when he’s ready for dinner, all he has to do is briefly marinate, then sear pieces of boneless skinless chicken thighs, boil the vegetables, and reheat the curry. If you want to prepare this recipe with premade curry, bring two cups curry to a gentle simmer in a saucepan over medium-low heat, then add the seared chicken and cooked vegetables to the pan and simmer until the chicken is cooked through.
What you’ll need
Dutch Oven
$90 At Amazon
Citrus Juicer
$20 $15 At Amazon
Microplane Grater
$18 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
Chicken
Curry and Assembly
Preparation
Chicken
Step 1
Toss chicken, garlic, ginger, lemon juice, garam masala, Kashmiri chile powder, salt, turmeric, and 1 Tbsp. oil in a medium bowl to coat. Chill 30 minutes.
Step 2
Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Cook chicken until lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side (chicken won’t be cooked through). Transfer to a plate.
Curry and Assembly
Step 3
Cook potatoes and carrots in a medium pot of boiling salted water until just fork-tender, 12–15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Step 4
Heat oil in a medium Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high. Add a few mustard seeds. When seeds start to wiggle and pop, reduce heat to medium and add curry leaves (if using), asafetida (if using), and remaining mustard seeds. Cover pot and cook spices, swirling, until mustard seeds start popping more gradually, about 30 seconds. Uncover pot and return heat to medium-high. Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Add red onion and a big pinch of salt and cook, stirring often and reducing heat if needed to prevent burning, until onion is golden brown and jammy, 7–9 minutes.
Step 5
Stir in turmeric, then tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until tomatoes are glossy and darkened in color and oil starts to separate around edges of pot, 5–7 minutes. Add coconut milk and broth and stir to combine; season with salt. Bring curry to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
Step 6
Add chicken and reserved potatoes and carrots to curry. Return to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, 5–7 minutes. Taste and season with more salt if needed.
Step 7
Divide among bowls. Drizzle with reserved coconut milk and top with cilantro. Serve with rice.
Do Ahead: Curry can be made 5 days ahead; let cool. Transfer to an airtight container and chill. Curry chicken can be made 3 days ahead; transfer to an airtight container and chill.
