Spicy Coriander Chicken

This is the most involved recipe in our collection and the most rewarding: chicken marinated in a freshly ground coriander spice paste, pressure-cooked, then finished in a rich onion gravy with curry leaves and fresh coriander.

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Ingredients

• 1 kg Chicken (skinless, small-medium pieces)
• 1 tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Turmeric powder
• 10 Shallots (whole)
• 8+1 Dried red chillies
• 2+4 Tbsp Oil (divided)
• ⅛ tsp Fenugreek
• 4 tsp Coriander seeds
• ½ tsp Black peppercorns
• 1½ tsp Garam Masala
• ¼ tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 large Red onion (sliced)
• 5 large cloves Garlic (crushed)
• 1 piece Ginger (crushed)
• Tomato (sliced)
• Green chilli (to taste)
• 1 tsp Fennel powder
• 1 sprig Curry leaves
• 1 handful Coriander leaves
• Water (as needed)

Fresh coriander a step from the chopping board — the Smart Grow Box grows leafy greens and herbs on your kitchen bench, with the built-in water tank and full-spectrum LED doing the daily work. You supply the seeds.

Grow your own coriander →

Personally tested at home on the Sunshine Coast before listing.

Ingredient notes & easy swaps

The spice list: long, but almost all pantry-stable — and grinding the coriander seeds and peppercorns fresh is what separates this from a jar curry. A mortar or a cheap spice grinder earns its keep here.

Dried red chillies: nine in total makes an honestly hot curry. The flavour lives in the chilli as much as the heat, so rather than omitting, reduce — four gives a medium table heat.

Fenugreek: an eighth of a teaspoon is deliberate; it turns bitter fast in larger amounts.

Chicken: skinless thigh pieces stay juicier through pressure cooking than breast; either works in small-to-medium pieces.

Curry leaves: fresh sprigs if you can get them (greengrocers with an Indian range usually have them); there's no true substitute, but the curry survives without.

Fresh coriander: the finishing handful is non-negotiable — it's the dish's name for a reason.

Method

1. First marinade: Rub the chicken pieces with the salt and turmeric powder and set aside while you prepare the spice mix.
2. Prepare the spice mix: Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan, add fenugreek seeds, shallots, and dried red chillies. Fry until fragrant.
3. Add coriander seeds and black peppercorns, stirring until aromatic. Mix in garam masala and remove from heat.
4. Grind the mixture into a smooth paste and rub it onto the chicken as a second marinade. Let it sit for at least 1 hour.
5. Cook the chicken: Add the marinated chicken to a pressure cooker with ¼ cup water. Cook on medium flame for 3-4 steams.
6. Prepare the gravy: Heat 4 tbsp oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, sliced onion, and a broken dried chilli. Sauté until golden brown.
7. Stir in crushed ginger and garlic, followed by sliced tomato and green chilli. Cook until tomatoes turn into a pulp.
8. Open the pressure cooker, simmer the chicken, and mix in the sautéed ingredients along with curry leaves.
9. Add fennel powder and half a cup of water, simmer until the gravy thickens.
10. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot!

Tips for success

• Give the second marinade its full hour — that's where the ground spice paste gets into the meat.
• Grind the paste properly smooth; a coarse paste stays gritty through cooking.
• Fry the whole spices only until fragrant — fenugreek and coriander seeds go bitter past golden.
• Let the tomatoes cook down to a genuine pulp before anything else joins them; that's the gravy's backbone.
• Simmer uncovered at the end until the gravy coats a spoon — patience here beats extra water earlier.

Storage and make-ahead

Like most spiced gravies, this one is better the next day — the heat rounds out and the spices settle in. Fridge, airtight, up to 3 days.

It also freezes well: portion it once cool and use within about 3 months, thawing overnight in the fridge and reheating gently with a splash of water. Add the fresh coriander garnish after reheating, never before freezing.

Variations

• Milder — halve the dried chillies and stir a splash of coconut milk into the finished gravy.
• Richer — all thigh meat, and let the simmer run a little longer.
• The full table — steamed rice, and the lemon-garlic bok choy as the fresh green counterpoint.
• Something cool alongside — a sharp butter lettuce salad resets the palate between mouthfuls better than another cooked green.

Spicy coriander chicken FAQ

How spicy is this curry?

As written — nine dried chillies plus green chilli — genuinely hot. Four dried chillies lands it at a family-friendly medium without losing the flavour.

What does "3–4 steams" mean?

Pressure-cooker whistles — the Indian-kitchen way of counting cooking cycles. Three to four whistles on medium takes the chicken to tender.

Can I make it without a pressure cooker?

Yes: simmer the marinated chicken, covered, with the quarter cup of water for 25–30 minutes until cooked through, then continue the recipe from the gravy step.

Can I use ground coriander instead of seeds?

In a pinch, about 3 teaspoons of ground — but toasting and grinding whole seeds is most of this dish's aroma, so it's the corner least worth cutting.

Grow the coriander yourself

Fresh coriander leaves finish this dish, and homegrown coriander holds its aroma far better than a supermarket bunch. The coriander growing guide shows how to beat its tendency to bolt, and the Smart Grow Box keeps a plant within arm's reach. Coriander bolts to seed at the first hint of hot weather outdoors — an indoor plant is how you keep that finishing handful reliable.

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