This is what would happen if the chef at your local Indian restaurant was craving comfort food. Chef’s special chicken. It’s probably already on the menu. It’s actually what happens when I crave comfort food. Tomatoes, onion, garlic, ginger, green chilis and spice all wrapped up in a lush sauce. Curry in a hurry.
Chicken masala is not tikka masala
You’ve probably already figured this out. But I want to be clear. This has nothing to do with chicken tikka masala. Nothing at all. There’s no tandoori chicken. No cream. No coconut. So now you know. Don’t say you weren’t warned. This is a classic Indian chicken curry. But with that smooth restaurant sauce you crave. Straight forward. Simple spices. You can probably get everything in this curry at your local supermarket. Except maybe the green chilies. But you could substitute jalapeños if you have to. Will be different. But still great. Go with smaller pieces. And use less. Jalapeños have a bit more bite.
30 minute chicken masala is inspired by homestyle cooking
The inspiration for 30 minute chicken masala comes from an old book by Julie Sahni. The ingredients line up pretty closely. Except the green chilies. This dish screams for green chilies. That’s not her. That’s glebekitchen. What changes is how the ingredients come together. Ingredients matter. But technique matters more. Makes this version completely different. Ms Sahni’s dish is traditional. This version moves solidly towards restaurant cooking. And restaurant results. If this was on a menu at your local Indian restaurant it would read “Succulent morsels of chicken with Chef’s special blend of spices, tomatoes, fenugreek leaves and green chilies”. The truth in advertising version? “Chef’s mom’s chicken curry that she made me for my birthday when I was young that I turned into a restaurant dish”. If anyone knows who actually writes Indian restaurant menus please leave a comment. I think it’s all the work of the same person. I do love the descriptions though. Always good for a laugh.
Takeaway flavours at home
Indian restaurants approach cooking in a way that has absolutely nothing to do with the four hundred twenty seven million Indian recipes online. That’s a fact. Mostly. The whole internet is about traditional Indian cooking. Restaurants do things differently. Surprisingly differently. This isn’t quite the way they do it. But it’s close. Very close. Nearly Indian restaurant. And it takes 30 minutes. Start to finish. A lot of the techniques used come from Indian restaurant style. Blooming spices to extract maximum flavour? Absolutely. Frying onion gravy to make that smooth sauce you crave? That’s here too. What isn’t here is the prep. The hours of prep. Restaurants cook for scale. And that means having everything ready for service. Restaurants can crank out curries in 10 minutes flat. They have adapted. Nobody is going to wait two hours for their dinner. There is a ton of prep that goes into that. Gravies. Masala pastes. Spice blends. Pre-cooked protein. All fundamental in an Indian restaurant kitchen. If you want to go the distance there is a whole section on Indian restaurant cooking here on glebekitchen. It’s a fun little rabbit hole. If you have the time. Don’t have the time? Or the inclination? This will get dinner for 4 on the table in 30 minutes.
Onion paste makes this chicken masala possible
Restaurants use this stuff called curry base or gravy to make their dishes. It’s basically a whole lot of boiled onions blended up to make a sauce. Takes a couple hours to make. This is curry in 30 minutes. Can’t have a two hour step in it. The math just doesn’t work. I’d get called out. Get all sorts of nasty comments. Luckily there is another way. Onion paste is that other way. The backbone of curry in a hurry. Microwave curry gravy. Instant curry base. I’m pretty sure this is a glebekitchen original. This recipe is a re-tread. First published in 2019. Part of a nearly restaurant series. I I thought it would be a hit. But very few seemed to get where I was coming from. Which was making restaurant style curries in 30 minutes from a standing start. So this is a new series of fast, easy Indian dishes. This is marketing. No doubt about that. But I’m hoping people get it this time. Give it a go. Who doesn’t want great curry in 30 minutes? I know I do. The curry snobs will hate this. It challenges dogma. Not exactly the same as pure restaurant technique. So it must be wrong. I’m not too worried though. I have a whole section of restaurant curries for them. And I don’t really like the curry snobs anyway. Small-minded thinkers block progress. Microwaved onions instead of boiled onions. Maybe a few less trace spices. Not quite the same a restaurant style. But you can make it on a Tuesday. WIth zero prior planning. That works for me. I have a day job too. And for what it’s worth I took new pictures for this update. And I think I made the recipe instructions a bit more amusing.
Give yourself the time you need
This recipe can be done in 30 minutes. That’s how long it takes me. But that doesn’t mean you have to get it done in 30 minutes. This isn’t a contest. The only prize is your dinner. It’s a good prize. But you get it no matter what. Cook at your own pace. If it takes you 35 minutes that’s OK. 40 minutes is OK too. The important thing is you enjoy your time in the kitchen. Don’t stress. This is supposed to be fun. Try to keep that in mind.
Chicken masala on the table in 30 minutes (or thereabouts)
Chicken masala is a straight down the middle chicken curry. And that’s a good thing. It has all the backbone flavours you expect. And the delicious bite of green chili. Not complicated. Not too many crazy ingredients. Straight forward flavours that just works. This is a solid, tasty chicken curry. Chicken masala is not a flashy dish. Not famous either. But don’t let that stop you. It’s a classic chicken curry. Which means really tasty. And a restaurant style sauce. On the table in 30 minutes. Or maybe 34 minutes if things don’t go perfectly. That should be enough to make you smile. Makes me smile anyway. Great curry for everyone. Fast.
