This creamy chicken curry is ideal for a quick weeknight dinner that is sure to impress. I based this dish on a traditional murgh malai – “murgh” means chicken and “malai” means cream. It’s a white curry (as you can see!), but don’t let its pale color fool you: it’s full of flavor!
What I love about this “extra creamy” chicken malai curry recipe
Not only is creamy chicken curry full of flavor and relatively quick to make, you can also start making it the day before to save time, as the recipe requires at least 4 hours of marinating. Why not get ready on a Sunday and thank yourself on Monday evening?
A crowd-pleaser, this chicken dish is best served with rice and/or naan to mop up the flavorful sauce. To add extra vegetables to the meal and make it even longer, you can serve your creamy curry with a simple salad, or steamed broccolini and green beans.
A traditional ingredient of this dish is kasuri methi, which are dried fenugreek leaves. They are generally added at the end of cooking, lightly crushed and sprinkled over the dish. You’ll have to go to an Indian specialty store to find them, which is why we’ve replaced them with coriander here. The flavor isn’t exactly the same, but it’s a simple alternative.
💡Tip: plan ahead to save time tomorrow
To get ahead, you can marinate the chicken up to 24 hours in advance. You can also make the onion and cashew paste up to 24 hours in advance. Cover both in separate bowls and store in the refrigerator until needed.
Key Ingredients of This “Extra Creamy” Chicken Malai Curry Recipe
- Greek yogurt: the slightly acidic nature of yogurt helps tenderize the chicken.
- Ginger and garlic: you can use fresh or paste from a jar. You can even find a jar containing a combination of garlic and ginger in the Asian section of the supermarket. If so, use 1 tbsp.
- Ground cumin: this adds a distinctive note to the dish, without being too strong or spicy.
- Chicken breast fillets: This cut of chicken looks attractive in the dish, but you can use a thigh fillet, if you like.
- Vegetable oil: any neutral vegetable oil can be used here.
- Onion: We commonly use a brown onion for cooking, but red or white will also work.
- Long green pepper: Green chili pepper is simply an unripe red chili pepper. The spiciness level can vary greatly, so taste a little to check if you’re cooking for people who don’t like spice. Removing the seeds and the whitish membrane helps make it less spicy.
- Cashew nuts : these are used here to thicken the sauce. Make sure you get raw, unsalted cashews.
- Cardamom pods: these flavor the dish. We “lightly bruise” the pods, which means crush them gently. The easiest way is to lay a large knife blade flat on the pods and tap with your fist. This helps release the flavor.
- cloves: Not just for apple pies, cloves combine with the other spices to achieve the final delicious flavor.
- Slightly thickened cooking cream: This cream is ideal for baking, as it is less likely to split or curdle. It still has a nice creamy flavor even though it is slightly less fatty.
- Garam masala: it is a mixture of different roasted and ground spices. It is normally added towards the end of cooking rather than at the beginning.
- Coriander: this herb enhances the dish and adds a fresh note. As I mentioned above, kasuri methi is the more traditional choice, but I used easy-to-find coriander.
For more delicious chicken curry recipe inspiration, try these dishes next.
Recipe by Tracy Rutherford, photography by Nigel Lough, styling by Lucy Busuttil and meal preparation by Lara Reynolds.
