Coconut Chicken Curry

Coconut Curry Chicken served with white rice and fresh cilantro.

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This Coconut Chicken Curry recipe is made with tomatoes, coconut milk, and chicken legs and thighs for a saucy, creamy chicken recipe that is fall-off-the-bone tender!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Malagasy

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 35

Marinating Time 30

Total Time 1 20

Servings serving

Calories 804kcal

Author Alexandria Drzazgowski

Ingredients

3¼ lb chicken legs and thighs bone in, skin off
1½ tsp salt
2 tsp fresh grated ginger
2 tsp fresh grated garlic
1 tsp ground turmeric
½ large yellow onion diced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cinnamon sticks
2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
2-3 sliced chili peppers optional
1 (15 oz) can unsweetened coconut milk

Instructions

Cut slices into 3¼ lb chicken legs and thighs and place the chicken in a large bowl.
Add 1½ tsp salt, 2 tsp fresh grated ginger, 2 tsp fresh grated garlic, and 1 tsp ground turmeric onto the chicken.
Then add ½ large yellow onion into the bowl, stirring to make sure that the chicken and onion are all evenly coated in spices. Allow the chicken to rest for 30 minutes.
Pour 2 tbsp vegetable oil into a large pot, and add it to the stove over medium high heat.
Once the oil is hot, add the chicken into the pot and brown it on all sides. When the chicken starts to get some color, also add the onions into the oil along with 3 cinnamon sticks and cover the pot.
Allow the chicken to cook, covered, until it starts to release its own juices, about 10 minutes. Occasionally uncover the pot to stir and continue cooking until the chicken is fully browned.
Add 2 cups canned crushed tomatoes into the pot and stir. Let the chicken cook for about 10 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally.
Add 1 (15 oz) can unsweetened coconut milk into the pot. Allow it to simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes.
Serve the chicken with rice and finely chopped tomatoes as sides! Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Recipe copyright The Foreign Fork. For educational and personal use only.

Recipe researched using Clovissia, lemurbaby, mindfilmness.

Chicken Legs & Thighs: You can also use chicken breast if you’d like, but I prefer the tenderness of the dark meat. You can leave the skin on if you prefer, but with braising I think it makes the best texture to remove it.
Grated Ginger and Garlic: For a quick hack, use the frozen grated garlic and ginger cubes! Some recipes call for ground ginger instead, which also works but I prefer the flavor of fresh.
Yellow Onion: You can also substitute a white onion, or a red onion in a pinch.
Cinnamon Sticks: Use about ⅛ tsp of ground cinnamon if necessary as a substitute.
Coconut Milk: In authentic versions of this recipe, the coconut milk is created fresh. In the US, it is easier to get it canned from the grocery store. Get unsweetened. Stick with coconut milk instead of coconut cream as it has a thinner texture.
Crushed Tomatoes: If you have fresh, juicy tomatoes, you can crush them and use them instead. Tomatoes aren’t in season when I’m testing this recipe, so canned worked way better to get the juiciness required to make a sauce.
The slices in the chicken are so that the flavors can permeate deeper into the chicken pieces.
The chicken, when cooked long enough, will start to release its own juices. There is no need to add chicken broth or any other liquid than what is called for in the recipe.
Make sure to cook the chicken on low-medium heat. During the 10 minute cooking periods, I made sure to stir it every 3.5 minutes or so.
Make sure to follow the instructions about when the pot is covered or uncovered. Keeping the lid on allows the sauce to become plentiful, and then the last 10 minutes uncovered is supposed to evaporate out some liquid to make the sauce thicker.
In Madagascar this recipe is usually served with rice and chopped tomatoes on the side.