One of the things I hear all the time is, “I love a good curry, but I just don’t have the time to make one from scratch.” I get it.
Some curries take hours of slow simmering and careful spicing to get that depth of flavour we all love. But not this one. This 30-minute Chicken Chilli Garlic Curry is one of my go-to recipes when I want something quick, fiery, and absolutely packed with flavour.
About this 30 Minute Chicken Chilli Garlic
This 30 Minute Chicken Chilli Garlic curry isn’t based on a traditional Indian regional dish. It’s more inspired by the kind of garlic chilli chicken you’d find in a good British curry house.
It’s somewhere between a madras and a jalfrezi in heat, but with the added punch of fresh garlic and green chillies fried right at the end of cooking for a proper aromatic kick.
You’ll get a rich, spicy sauce that clings to the chicken, the kind of thing that tastes like it took hours but is on your plate in less time than it takes to order a takeaway.
Ingredients
Get all your ingredients together and ready before you start cooking. It's easier that way.
- chicken thighs
- Juice of one lime
- Kashmiri chilli powder
- Salt
- Black pepper
- white onions
- Chicken stock or water
- Rapeseed (canola) or ghee
- Red onion
- Green finger chillies
- Garam masala or Madras curry powder
- Tandoori masala
- Unseasoned passata
- Garlic
- Red bullet chillies
- Green bullet chillies
- Kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- Fresh coriander
- Lime wedges to serve
See recipe card for quantities.
Step by step photos.
Check out my step by step photos to see just how easy it is to make this 30 Minute Chicken Chilli Garlic Curry.
- Step 1: In a mixing bowl, mix the chicken pieces with one teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder, the lime juice and salt and pepper. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes or up to 4 hours. If you are in a rush, you can go straight to cooking.
- Step 2: Place the white onions in a blender and blend into a smooth paste. Set aside.
- Step 3: Now heat 1 tablespoon oil or ghee in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken in one layer and fry to brown for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside. The chicken may not be completely cooked at this stage.
- Step 4: Add the chopped red onion and stir it around in the pan for about 5 minutes to soften. Stir in the blended onions and fry for another 5 minutes or until the onion paste is beginning to brown some.
- Step 5: Stir in the chopped finger chillies and garlic and ginger paste. Fry for another minute or so.
- Step 6: Then add the remaining chilli powder, garam masala or curry powder and the tandoori masala and stir it all into the onions.
Why make a tarka?
Adding a tarka that you add at the end of cooking the curry offers a fresher flavour. You could of course fry the chillies and garlic at the beginning but I think you're going to love this tarka method when cooking your 30 minute chicken chilli garlic!
- Step 7: Pour in the passata and about half of the chicken stock or water and bring to a simmer. Return the chicken to the pan. If the pan is looking dry, stir in more of the chicken stock or water. You can always cook it down to thicken if you add too much. Allow to simmer while you make the tarka.
- Step 8: Heat 2 to 3 tablespoons of ghee or oil in a small pan over a medium heat. Add the chopped bullet chillies and dried Kashmiri chillies and let them begin to cook through and even char in places. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the slivered garlic.
- Step 9: Stir the tarka into the sauce and cover the pan to simmer for about 5 minutes. Then raise the lid and continue simmering until you are happy with the sauce consistency.
- Step 10: Season with salt to taste and add the Kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) by rubbing it between your hands into the sauce. Garnish with the chopped coriander and a little reserved chilli and garlic tarka if you like to serve.
Variations You Can Try
Dial up the heat: Add a splash of naga pickle or a pinch of ghost chilli powder if you like it really hot.
Swap the protein: This works brilliantly with prawns, lamb, paneer or tofu. Adjust cooking times accordingly.
Go veg: Try chickpeas and spinach, or chunky mushrooms for a meaty vegetarian version.
Equipment
You don't need any special equipment to make this 30 minute chicken chilli garlic curry. I used a hot wok to show you can cook a great curry with whatever you have. That said, the best pans for hot curries and high-heat frying are a carbon steel wok, heavy-based frying pan, or a cast iron skillet — all hold heat well and give you that proper sizzle and flavour.
Storage
You can store any leftover curry in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. In fact, as it rests in the fridge, the flavours will develop and it will get even better. You can reheat it in your microwave or pour it all back into a pan and heat it over a medium heat until hot.
Top Tip
Work Ahead - Although this is a 30 minute chicken chilli garlic recipe, you could make it a day or so ahead of time. This give the flavor time to develop and it will be even better!
Final Thoughts
This Chicken Chilli Garlic Curry proves that big flavour doesn’t have to take all day. It’s quick enough for a weeknight, but punchy and satisfying enough to impress guests on the weekend. And once you get the hang of it, you can tweak it endlessly to suit your taste.
So next time you’re thinking about picking up the phone for a takeaway, give this one a go instead. It’ll be on the table in 30 minutes—and it’ll taste like it came straight from your favourite curry house.
FAQ
Yes! One of the ideas behind my series of 30 minute curries is to show that there are so many ways to prepare the ingredients for each curry. You could use the tandoori chicken recipe used in this Chicken Tikka Masala if you like. You could also make things simple and try the chicken preparation I use in this chicken jalfrezi. Prepare the chicken as you like and use it in this delicious chilli garlic sauce.
Absolutely. Like most curries, this one tastes even better after a few hours or overnight in the fridge. Reheat gently with a splash of water or stock to bring it back to life.
You can also freeze it. Just let it cool, portion it up, and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly and reheat until piping hot.
No. That is a little experiment I did and liked it. You could also fry them in the same pan and the beginning of cooking. Adding them at the end gives a fresher flavour with more colour.
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Recipe
30 Minute Chicken Chilli Garlic
This is my latest version of chicken chilli garlic that can be cooked in 30 minutes or less. In my opinion, the garlic and chilli tarka added right at the end of cooking makes the dish!
Ingredients
- 1lb 12oz (800g) chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
- Juice of one lime
- 2 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste at the end of cooking
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 medium white onions, roughly chopped
- 250ml chicken stock or water
- 4 tablespoon rapeseed (canola) or ghee
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon garlic and ginger paste
- 3 green finger chillies, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon garam masala or Madras curry powder
- 2 tablespoon tandoori masala
- 200g unseasoned passata
- 15 garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers
- 2 red bullet chillies
- 2 green bullet chillies
- 1 tablespoon kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- Lime wedges to serve
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, mix the chicken pieces with one teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder, the lime juice and salt and pepper. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes or up to 4 hours. If you are in a rush, you can go straight to cooking.
- Place the white onions in a blender with just enough of the water or stock to blend into a smooth paste. I used ¼ cup (70ml) but how much you need will depend on your blender. Use as little water or stock as you can to blend into a paste. Set aside.
- Now heat 1 tablespoon oil or ghee in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken in one layer and fry to brown for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside. The chicken may not be completely cooked at this stage.
- Add the chopped red onion and stir it around in the pan for about 5 minutes to soften. Stir in the blended onions and fry for another 5 minutes or until the onion paste is beginning to brown some and then stir in the chopped finger chillies and garlic and ginger paste. Fry for another minute or so. Then add the remaining chilli powder, garam masala or curry powder and the tandoori masala
- Return the browned chicken to the pan and add the passata and just enough water or stock to loosen the sauce. You can really add as much as you like depending on how much sauce you like. Remember, if it looks too liquidy, you can just cooked it down. Too dry, add more water or stock.
- Bring it all to a good simmer and then cover the pan and simmer gently over a medium heat while you prepare the garlic and chilli tarka.
- Heat 2 to 3 tablespoons of ghee or oil in a small pan over a medium heat. Add the chopped bullet chillies and dried Kashmiri chillies and let them begin to cook through and even char in places. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the slivered garlic.
- Continue frying until the garlic is soft and be very careful not to burn it. Pour this flavoured ghee/oil with the chillies and slivered garlic over the curry. I usually hold a little back to use as a garnish.
- Stir the tarka into the sauce and continue simmering until you are happy with the sauce consistency. Season with salt to taste and add the Kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) by rubbing it between your hands into the sauce.
- Garnish with the chopped coriander and a little reserved chilli and garlic tarka if you like to serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 489Total Fat: 31gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 180mgSodium: 635mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 5gSugar: 9gProtein: 33g
Dave says
Hi Dan
Looks a great recipe, big fan got most of your books they are fab. A little confused with this recipe. The title says Chicken Madras but the recipe is for Garlic Chilli Chicken, also there is no garlic and ginger paste in the ingredients list do you have a quantity for this. Keep up the good work.
All the best
Dave
Dan says
Hi Dave
Thanks very much. There were a couple of typos in there. All fixed now. Cheers, Dan
mrs j woodiss says
I didn't see quantities. Were there any?
Joe says
Quantities are in the recipe card, the above explains what ingredients you see in the photograph.
Paul Mugleston says
I made this and it was delicious, thanks. I think you missed out where to add the curry powder and masala. It took me 90 minutes, but maybe I’m a slow cook!
Joe says
Thank you. This has been updated now. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Cheers. Joe
Lee says
In the method list, it does not say where to add madras powder or chilli powder, it totally misses these ingredients it is on the photo step by step but missing from the method list.
Joe says
Hi Lee, thank you for pointing this out. The method list has now been updated. I'm glad you were able to find this step in the step by step pictures. Cheers. Joe