Love spicy food that is creamy and comforting? Well, then, you are in the right place! Our madras curry chicken is one of our easy recipes that is bursting with flavor.
What’s even better about this recipe? It can be modified with just one simple change to become vegan. It is the perfect recipe to keep in your arsenal if you or your friends or family are plant-based. Scroll to the end of this blog post to read our suggestions on how to vegan-ize this recipe!
Table of Contents
What is madras curry?
Madras is a type of curry. In the US when we talk about curry, we typically refer to a dish using curry powder or garam masala. However, in India there are a vast variety of different spice blends to make up multiple categories of curry.
Madras curry is distinguished from other curries primarily because of the combination of ground cumin, coriander and cardamom. These spices have a distinctly sweet and fragrant flavor. Madras curry also tends to be more spicy than traditional curry as it contains dried kashmiri chiles.
Rather than using a spice blend to develop a curry sauce, we love using Maya Kaimal’s Madras Curry Indian Simmer Sauce. It is absolute perfection and makes this recipe so much easier! This curry sauce is also naturally dairy free, despite being incredibly creamy.
How to serve madras curry chicken
Traditionally, madras curry is served with raita, a creamy Indian yogurt. A yogurt spread is the perfect pairing for madras curry chicken because it balances out the heat from this spicy curry.
- The yogurt dip in our roasted eggplant and tomato with yogurt dip recipe is a wonderful partner to this spicy curry. You can just make the yogurt dip on its own or roast the eggplants and tomato to serve with the dish!
- Our Egyptian baked rice (aka roz maamar) is another great pairing for this madras curry chicken dish. We love to serve rice with curry because it soaks up the sauce and adds some extra texture.
- The tahini dressing from our whole roasted whole carrots recipe is another refreshing addition to this dish. Similar to our first pairing recommendation, you can easily make the tahini dressing to drizzle on top of the curry or make the entire recipe for an extra veggie side.
How to make madras curry chicken
- Drizzle olive oil into a deep pan. Heat the pan over medium high heat, and then add the cubed chicken in a single layer (you may have to make this in two batches if the pan isn’t big enough). Sprinkle on salt, pepper, and garam masala and allow the chicken to cook.
- Add the madras curry sauce and frozen peas. Mix everything together.
- Bring the contents of the pan up to a simmer and allow everything to cook together.
- Serve hot with rice, and some fresh cilantro!
How to make vegan madras curry
We are excited to tell you how easy it is to make this delicious recipe vegan! Despite how creamy the sauce is, the madras curry sauce we use is naturally vegan.
All you need to do is substitute the chicken in this dish to make it a plant-based recipe. Here are some options for what you can replace the chicken with:
- Beans are a wonderful substitute packed with protein. Any kind of bean would work for this recipe, but we suggest trying red kidney beans! They are thick and have a hearty outer layer. Their texture is perfect to replace the chicken.
- Lentils also work well as a substitute for the chicken. They are more time consuming to prepare than canned beans, but are definitely worth it! You will need to cook the lentils ahead of adding them to the recipe.
- Jackfruit is a large tropical tree fruit that is spiky all over. Despite being a fruit, jackfruit has a very mild taste and it absorbs the flavors you cook it in. You can buy it in a can and add it straight to the pan when you add the madras curry sauce. It has a texture similar to pulled pork.
- Any vegetable would work great to substitute the chicken in this recipe! Whether you have some leftover broccoli, want to make a potato dish, or have a random combination of vegetables, you can’t go wrong!
- Chickpeas are a main staple in Indian cuisine, and also pair well with the flavors of the madras curry. This is another yummy substitute for protein in this dish that is healthy, nourishing, and adds a great texture to the dish.
Madras Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless and skinless chicken breast cubed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garam masala spice mix
- 12.5 ounces Madras Curry Simmer Sauce such as Maya Kaimal
- 12 ounces frozen green peas
- Cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Drizzle olive oil into a deep pan. Heat the pan over medium high heat, and then add the cubed chicken in a single layer (you may have to make this in batches if the pan isn’t big enough). Sprinkle on salt, pepper, and garam masala and allow the chicken to cook.2 Tablespoons olive oil, 1 1/2 pounds boneless and skinless chicken breast, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon garam masala spice mix
- Add the madras curry sauce and frozen peas. Mix everything together. Bring the contents of the pan up to a simmer and allow everything to cook together.12.5 ounces Madras Curry Simmer Sauce, 12 ounces frozen green peas
- Serve hot with rice, and some fresh herbs!Cilantro for garnish
Equipment
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Is it possible to make this a freezer meal and cook it in a crockpot?
Absolutely! Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8!
Great meal! Especially with the rice
Very easy and quick to make