This Turmeric Chicken Coconut Curry is a veggie packed easy dish that everyone loves!
There’s a few recipes from cookbooks I make for authentic Indian dishes that I absolutely love! However to be entirely honest, I make them on average about once a year. By the time you toast the whole spices, grind them to make a dry masala, then make a wet masala, you’re already in at least 30 minutes. And what’s more… you haven’t even started cooking yet!
More often than not, I just don’t have that kind of time to dedicate in the kitchen. So I decided to make up something that would have similar flavors, but in a fraction of the time. And that is exactly how we ended up here today talking about this Turmeric Chicken Coconut Curry. It’s lightly spiced with Indian spices, and comes together quickly.
I usually try to keep the ingredients simple in my recipes. But if you love Indian food, you’ll want to have these spices on hand for future meals. Most Indian recipes will have an ingredient list a mile long, even if they are fairly simple recipes. But I did my best to keep it down, and as simple as possible.
Time saving tips
1. You can buy cubed butternut squash at most stores these days, and it will save you most of the prep time! I don’t think the texture is as good, but it’s been a lifesaver when things are crazy busy. It also costs quite a bit more than a whole squash as you might expect – the price of convenience.
2. Instead of cutting up chicken thighs, try using ground turkey instead which is essentially ‘pre-cut’ for you. It can also be more cost effective too, depending on where you live.
How to make this Turmeric Chicken Coconut Curry
- Start by prepping all your ingredients before cooking.
- Sauté the chicken, then remove it from the pan and set it aside until the end of cooking time.
- Then sauté the onion until it’s beginning to soften before adding the ginger and garlic.
- Next add the spices to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the butternut squash cubes to the pan along with the coconut milk and broth.
- Simmer until tender, then add the shredded kale/spinach in at the end of the cooking time. For spinach the heat of the curry will cook it, but for kale you’ll need to simmer the curry a couple more minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and freshly squeezed lime juice.
- Serve with freshly chopped cilantro, lime wedges, and your choice of sides.
Coconut Curry Recipe inspiration
- Easy Chicken Coconut Curry (Indian-inspired)
- Thai Chicken Green Coconut Curry
- Thai Coconut Curry Noodle Soup
- Thai Pumpkin Coconut Curry
- Ethiopian Berbere Chicken Coconut Curry
- Mango Chicken Coconut Curry
And finally, I hope you enjoy this as much as we have! If you make it, I hope you’ll leave me a comment/rating below. And I always love hearing from you here, and over on Instagram where you can tag me at #getinspiredeveryday with your photos.
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Turmeric Chicken Coconut Curry
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This curry has all the heady spices of authentic Indian cooking, but simplified for weeknight meals!
Ingredients
1 Tablespoon avocado oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, 1 pound, cut into 1” pieces
2 cups 1/4″ diced yellow onion, 1/2 large onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons minced ginger
1 1/2 Teaspoons ground turmeric
1 1/2 Teaspoons ground cumin
1 Teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 Teaspoon ground cardamom
4 cups 1/2″ cubed butternut squash, 1 pound, about 1/2 normal sized squash
1 – 13.66 ounce can coconut milk
1 cup chicken broth or stock
1/2 Teaspoon garam masala
4 cups baby spinach, 4 ounces, roughly chopped, or thinly sliced kale
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
Toppings:
Lime wedges and chopped cilantro
Instructions
Start by prepping all your ingredients before cooking.
Sauté the chicken, then remove it from the pan and set it aside until the end of cooking time.
Then sauté the onion until it’s beginning to soften before adding the ginger and garlic.
Next add the spices to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add the butternut squash cubes to the pan along with the coconut milk and broth.
Simmer until tender, about 15 minutes.
Then add the roughly chopped spinach in at the end of the cooking time, along with the garam masala.
For spinach the heat of the curry will cook it, but for kale you’ll need to simmer the curry a couple more minutes.
Season to taste with salt and freshly squeezed lime juice.
Serve with freshly chopped cilantro, lime wedges, and your choice of sides.
Notes
Be careful with anything that has turmeric in it as it stains things, (including your spoons and spatulas) easily!
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Curry
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Indian
Where’s the measurement for the curry powder? I’m in the middle of making this but I don’t see a measure for the curry powder. Help!
This curry doesn’t have curry powder in it, the individual spices listed are what is normally in curry powder. I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any more questions!
A very straightforward recipe. I added a couple of sticks of celery chopped because I like plenty of vegetables. I added a 1/2 tsp of chili powder because my wife likes a little heat. It proved to be delicious accompanied by some basmati rice, cucumber raita and a few papadums. I will definitely make this again.
That sounds so yummy and I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it!
I made this with tofu instead of chicken and it was delicious!! Thanks for the recipe!!
So glad you enjoyed it, and good to know it works out great with tofu as well!
This looks and sounds delicious! I have never seen the frozen cubed veg before, but that would be so handy for weekdays to save some time! I swear by frozen sliced onions and mushrooms, but never thought to look for butternut squash! I’m going to be on a hunt now 🙂
I usually find mine in the refrigerated section, but I have seen frozen butternut lately although I haven’t tried it yet!