Creamy Coconut Chicken Curry – Fast and Fancy! (she: Leesh and Lu)

Coconut Chicken Curry is simple and fast enough for a weeknight, but fancy enough for company, too!

As the weather warms up, we are ever on the lookout for meals that can be on the table quickly and don’t require the oven.  This Creamy Coconut Chicken Curry definitely fits the bill!  It’s one of those meals that is so fast and simple to make, but feels fancy enough to serve to company.  Something about the coconut makes it feel fresh and summery to us.

The original recipe called for grilling the chicken before simmering it in the sauce, but we found that step to be time-consuming (skewering each piece of chicken and babysitting it over the grill) so we cut it out and found that we didn’t miss it at all.  We used boneless, skinless chicken thighs, but you could also use chicken breasts.

A word of caution to anyone tempted to lighten it up: you won’t get the same results with lite coconut milk in this recipe, so make sure to use the full-fat variety here.  You’ll know it’s not lite when you open the can and it’s separated like the picture above.  The picture doesn’t exactly look appetizing, but the full fat coconut milk will give you that rich and creamy texture you want in this curry.

We served it with Basmati rice and it was gobbled up by even the pickiest kid at our table.  Heat up some Naan bread and steam a side veggie and you’ll have yourself a pretty stellar meal in under 30 minutes.

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Creamy Coconut Chicken Curry (she: Leesh and Lu)

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons curry powder divided
• 1 tablespoon Garam Masala divided
• 1 medium yellow onion diced
• 2 cloves garlic finely minced
• 1 can 14 ounce sweetened coconut milk (full fat)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• Hot cooked Basmati or Jasmine Rice for serving
• Cilantro finely chopped

Instructions

1. Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and half of the curry and half of the garam masala. Toss to coat evenly and set aside.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat add the oil and heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the onion is tender, stirring often. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly for 30 more seconds. Add the other half of the curry powder and garam marsala. Cook, stirring occasionally until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add coconut milk, tomato paste, and chicken broth. Transfer mixture to a 2 cup measuring cup and blend with an immersion blender until smooth.
3. Return blended sauce to pan and add chicken pieces in. Bring to a simmer for cook for 15 minutes. Add cream and heat until warm. Serve over rice and top each serving with fresh cilantro.

Recipe Notes

Adapted from Oh, Sweet Basil

For more great recipes, visit these posts:

Rustic Homemade Hashbrowns

Mini Fruit Kabobs

No Bake Cookie Smoothie

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