Weeknight Indian-Spiced Chicken

Weeknight Indian-Spiced Chicken

Cooking great meals during the week can be challenging for all of us. We want to keep dinners simple but don’t want to give up flavor. Voila! Weeknight Indian-Spiced Chicken is here to answer the call. It’s a quick, easy, tasty one-pan meal that is a crowd pleaser … even for picky eaters.

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Ingredients

ingredients: garlic powder, ground coriander, ground ginger, and ground cumin, salt, cayenne pepper, boneless thighs, coconut milk, tomato sauce, fresh spinach, with finishers of cilantro, mint and plain yogurt

Organize all of the ingredients: garlic powder, ground coriander, ground ginger, ground cumin, salt, cayenne pepper, boneless thighs, coconut milk, tomato sauce, fresh spinach, with finishers of cilantro, mint and plain yogurt.

Making the Spice Blend

In a large bowl combine garlic powder, coriander, cumin, ginger, salt, and cayenne with a fork.

Coating the Chicken

Place chicken in the spice bowl and using a fork, tongs, or your hands mix chicken with spices until chicken pieces are thoroughly coated.

Searing the Chicken

In a large skillet heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and cook chicken for 3 minutes undisturbed so that a nice spiced crust forms. Flip the chicken pieces and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Total searing time is 6 minutes.

Finishing with the Coconut Milk and Tomato Sauce

Next, add the coconut milk and tomato sauce to the pan. Move chicken pieces around in the pan to help blend the coconut milk and tomato sauce. Bring to a full simmer and then cover with a lid. Reduce heat to medium-low or low (you want the sauce to be at a medium simmer) and cook for an additional 10 minutes, until chicken is thoroughly cooked through.

Weeknight Indian-Spiced Chicken

Place rice on a platter. Then transfer chicken to the platter and top with fresh cilantro and mint. 
Serve with a side of plain yogurt.Weeknight Indian-Spiced Chicken

To serve, place rice followed by spinach on a platter. Then transfer chicken and top with fresh cilantro and mint. Serve with a side of plain yogurt. Or, alternatively, place rice into individual bowls and then layer with spinach and chicken, fresh herbs and yogurt. Enjoy!

Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Weeknight Indian-Spiced Chicken

Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time16 minutes
Total Time21 minutes
Course: dinner
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: cayenne, chicken thighs, cilantro, coconut milk, fresh spinach, garlic powder, gluten free, ground coriander, ground cumin, ground ginger, mint, tomato sauce
Servings: 4 people
Author: GFchow @ gfchow.com

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper more to taste
  • 1 1/2 – 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of any excess fat
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil
  • 1 can (13 ounce) unsweetened coconut milk
  • 1 can (8 ounce) tomato sauce

Finishers

  • fresh spinach about 2 handfuls
  • cilantro leaves
  • mint leaves
  • plain yogurt
  • white or brown rice

Instructions

  • In a large bowl combine garlic powder, coriander, cumin, ginger, salt, and cayenne with a fork. Place chicken in the spice bowl and using a fork, tongs, or your hands mix chicken with spices until chicken pieces are thoroughly coated.
  • In a large skillet heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and cook chicken for 3 minutes undisturbed so that a nice spiced crust forms. Flip the chicken pieces and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Total searing time is 6 minutes.
  • Next, add the coconut milk and tomato sauce to the pan. Move chicken pieces around in the pan to help blend the coconut milk and tomato sauce. Bring to a full simmer and then cover with a lid. Reduce heat to medium-low or low (you want the sauce to be at a medium simmer) and cook for an additional 10 minutes, until chicken is thoroughly cooked through.
  • To serve, place rice followed by spinach on a platter. Then transfer chicken and top with fresh cilantro and mint. Serve with a side of plain yogurt. Or, alternatively, place rice into individual bowls and then layer with spinach and chicken, fresh herbs and yogurt. Enjoy!

Notes

Use tomato paste combined with water if you don’t have tomato sauce on-hand.
For a slightly thicker sauce use coconut cream instead of coconut milk.
Once the tomato sauce and coconut milk have been added to the pan, the spinach can be also be added if your preference is a thoroughly wilted spinach.
If you prefer chicken breasts over thighs, they can be used but the cooking time will need to be reduced.

Recipe from Epicurious.com with slight modifications made by me.

If you like this recipe, you may also like these other GFchow recipes. Crispy Creamy Mustard Chicken, Poached Cod in Tomato Curry, and Creamy Coconut Crunch Shrimp.

GLUTEN FREE DISCLAIMER

The recipes you find here are considered by me to be gluten free. However, it is up to you to make sure the ingredients you use are gluten free. Whenever possible, I will list specific brands of ingredients that I use, but always be sure to check the labels yourself to verify the item is gluten free. 



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