Hyderabadi Chicken Curry Recipe

Hyderabadi chicken curry garnished with cilantro in a white bowl.

5 from 2 votes

This spicy and aromatic Hyderabadi Chicken Curry Recipe is made with boneless chicken, coconut, tamarind, peanuts, and curry leaves.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian, Pakistani

Keyword: boneless chicken, chicken with coconut, chicken with peanuts, chicken with tamarind, spicy chicken curry

Servings: people

Calories: 357kcal

Author: Nosheen Babar

Ingredients

1 ½ lb chicken tenderloins (see notes)
½ cup desiccated coconut (see notes)
¼ cup raw peanuts (see notes)
⅓ cup cooking oil (see notes)
1 medium onion (see notes)
1 ½ tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 tsp salt
1 tsp red chilli powder (see notes)
1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder (see notes)
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
2 serrano chillies (see notes)
20 curry leaves
½ cup tamarind water
¼ cup cilantro

Instructions

Dry roast the coconut and peanuts until you can smell the roasted aroma and set them aside to cool (see notes)
Once cool, grind the peanuts and set them aside.
Dice the onion and saute it till it's medium brown.
Next, add the ginger and garlic paste and saute for 30-45 seconds.
Add the Chicken and stir for 30 seconds.
Add all the dry spices, stir to mix, add ½ cup water, and cover to cook the chicken.
After 10 minutes, uncover and add the coconut, peanuts, serrano chilies, and curry leaves.
Add a little more water if necessary to maintain a gravy of 2 cups, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.
Uncover and check to see if the oil has separated and risen to the top.
If it has, turn the stove off, add the tamarind water, cover, and wait 5 minutes before serving. (see notes)
After 5 minutes, uncover, garnish with cilantro and serve

Notes

Chicken - Chicken tenderloins are my go-to for all my boneless chicken recipes. Much juicier than the breast and less fatty than the thighs, they work perfectly in this recipe. Authentic Hyderabadi chicken curry is made with bone-in chicken. While that adds to the flavor, it takes longer to cook. I use this quick version for a weeknight option and the more complex version for special occasions. You pick which one you want to cook.

Peanuts - Traditionally, most South Asian curries are made with raw peanuts that have the skin removed. However, if all I can source are the ones with the skin on, I roast and grind them as is.

Coconut - Desiccated coconut is not the same as shredded coconut. It is unsweetened and has had all the moisture stripped from it. You can identify it by its consistency, which is that of a powder.

Oil - I use a high heat index oil such as avocado, canola, sunflower, or peanut. The amount of oil I use in this curry is slightly more than in my other recipes. This is because boneless chicken is lean and releases little natural oil. In addition, the ground peanuts and coconut are very dry and absorb oil easily. Any less than ⅓ of a cup will result in a very dry curry.

Onions - Two medium onions are equal to 2 cups of diced onions. If you're using pre-fried store-bought onions, use ¼ cup for each cup of fresh chopped onions.

The chilies - Serrano chilies work best with Pakistani food. If you find them too spicy, half them and remove the seeds.

The tamarind - I use so much tamarind in my cooking that I make my own tamarind water. If you want an easier route, buy tamarind concentrate or puree and mix 2.5 tablespoons with ½ cup of water to make the water.

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