%3Aformat(webp)%2F0ea0de7a-3291-4765-a438-035f99cc30a0-screenshot-2025-07-01-224949.png&w=1920&q=75)
A good homemade chicken curry is one of life's great pleasures – and far easier than you might think. This is a classic North Indian-style curry with a rich onion-tomato base and warming spices you can build in your own kitchen. Here's how to do it properly.
The secret to a real Indian curry isn't a jar of paste but technique: building a base of onions, ginger, garlic and tomatoes cooked down patiently until deeply savoury, then blooming whole and ground spices in hot oil so they release their aroma.
Get those foundations right and everything else follows. Don't rush the onions – that slow browning is where the flavour lives.
%3Aformat(webp)%2Ftravel_report_photo%2F95763%2F7435b9f7-5733-4aa7-915f-22ec48ddb880-A62EB249-CCCA-497A-B270-5A3E8CA17FBB.jpeg&w=1920&q=75)
For the curry you'll need:
A little natural yoghurt at the end adds a lovely richness.
%3Aformat(webp)%2Fheader_media%2F59e60d40-196f-417e-969f-30e6219114bd-pexels-sayan-samanta-1460859263-29517659-fotor-20250815135226.jpg&w=1920&q=75)
%3Aformat(webp)%2F4eb039d6-1169-4305-a72c-19b311d41952-pexels-yogendras31-18214956.jpg&w=1920&q=75)
A few things that make all the difference:
Serve with basmati rice, warm naan or chapati and a cooling raita.
%3Aformat(webp)%2Fpage_builder%2F95b1f896-6f98-4f17-b369-150173d8a9fe-dsc02925.jpg&w=1920&q=75)
Once you've mastered the basics, play. Add coconut milk and curry leaves for a southern twist, ground almonds and cream for a mild korma, or extra Kashmiri chilli for a fiery rogan josh-style dish. Curry is a template, not a straitjacket – every Indian family cooks theirs a little differently.
Recipes are a wonderful start, but nothing beats standing in an Indian kitchen watching a home cook fold spices into a bubbling pot. On several of our small-group trips we visit family homes and join hands-on cookery sessions, so you return with flavours – and skills – that last long after the holiday. Come and cook with us in India.
Contact us
We’d love to hear from you. Please fill out this form.
All fields marked with (*) are mandatory.