Chicken Madras Curry
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Apr 7, 2025 
Our Madras Curry Recipe is an easy chicken curry recipe that has the wonderfully deep flavors of a classic Indian curry, but is ready in less than an hour! Made with spicy Madras curry powder and creamy coconut milk, this zesty dish is perfectly rich and satisfying.
Madras Curry Recipe – Fast and Fabulous!
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
When I was younger, I spent three separate summers in India, living and working in a few different villages and cities throughout the region. During these trips, I often had the opportunity to learn many Indian recipes and cooking methods first-hand, and different curries were by far the most commonly made main and side dishes.
Deep, flavorful curries are among my favorite meals to enjoy after a long day. The intense aromatics completely fill the kitchen while cooking and create a wonderful, satisfying warmth both in your home and belly. The outside world seems to melt away once you dig into a delicious bowl of rice completely covered with bright, hot, zesty, and creamy curry!
Chicken Madras Curry has quite an interesting backstory and is among my favorite variations of a traditional yellow curry. This Easy Madras Curry Recipe is a bit spicier than standard yellow curries, and is perfect for those who really enjoy a kick of heat.
Bonus: Start to finish, this recipe is ready in less than an hour, yet still achieves those intricate flavors you crave. You’ll love being able to make this spicy, scrumptious dish even on a busy weeknight.
Ingredients You Need
There is no limit to the different types of curries that can be made, each with its own unique blend of spices and utilizing whatever preferred proteins and produce are available.
- Vegetable Oil or ghee – aka clarified butter
- Red onion – chopped
- Cilantro – chopped
- Garlic Cloves – minced
- Fresh ginger – grated
- Diced tomatoes – canned, or use a tomato puree if you don’t want tomato chunks
- Unsweetened coconut milk – canned
- Madras curry powder – you should be able to find this at your local grocery store, or it is often supplied at Whole Foods. If you can’t find it, you can also order it online!
- Garam masala – get our easy recipe to make your own blend!
- Salt
- Kashmiri chili powder – or cayenne
- Skinless Boneless chicken thighs – cut into 1-inch pieces, or you can use chicken breasts if preferred
- Lemon juice – for finishing
How To Make Madras Curry
Traditional Indian curries often require many different ingredients, cooked in layers over long periods to build those complex flavors we know and love. However, I’ve figured out how to achieve the same depth in a fraction of the time by using a flavorful blend of ground spices and creamy coconut milk to make the best Madras chicken curry!
Find the full Madras Curry Recipe with ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, and video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Serving Suggestions
This spicy chicken Madras curry recipe is terrific over a heaping scoop of freshly made Basmati Rice with lots of fluffy, crispy naan bread on the side for dipping and sopping up every bit of sauce.
Cool your palate down with a cold glass of iced Authentic Chai Tea, and serve Indian Yogurt Sauce and Kachumber Salad on the side for extra refreshment.
Tips & Variations
- You can use chicken breast instead of chicken thighs, but make sure you don’t overcook the chicken! Chicken breast is more prone to drying out when overcooked. You can also use chicken pieces with the bone in, if you prefer. Cooking time will vary!
- This curry recipe is spicy due to the Madras curry powder along with the Kashmiri chili powder or cayenne pepper. If you are sensitive to spice, only add a dash of cayenne or Kashmiri chili powder and then add more if needed.
- If preferred, you can use strips of beef instead of chicken!
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does that beautiful red color and heat come from?
Most Indian curries consist of a blend of toasted vibrant spices, including fresh curry leaves, turmeric, coriander, cumin, ginger, and cardamom. They tend to be yellow in color, with just a hint of spice and lots of savoriness.
While the specific spices involved can tend to vary, Madras masala powder punches up the typical curry spice blend by including red chillies or a combination of chili and paprika. The resulting flavor with the added red chili is quite spicy, which works beautifully with creamy coconut milk and fresh herbs.
Both traditional yellow curries and Madras masala curry also tend to include garam masala, which is a mixture of all or some of the following roasted spices: cumin, coriander, green and black cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, bay leaves, peppercorns, fennel, mace, and dried chilies. It’s surprisingly easy to make your own roasted garam malsa blend right at home!
Madras curry originated in southern India and became popular among British colonizers and merchants during the 1600s, but the name “Madras curry” actually didn’t come about until it was introduced to British restaurants in the 1970s. Over the years it has been developed and reimagined in several different ways, with the resulting dish usually consisting of a deep red-colored, rich and spicy sauce.
A Madras curry recipe is typically pretty spicy, but not so spicy that the average person can’t enjoy it! If you are sensitive to spicy foods, Madras curry might not be for you! You can try my butter chicken curry for a mild curry experience instead.
Madras curry is said to have originated in the city of Madras, which is now called Chennai.
Yes! This easy curry chicken recipe is already dairy-free if you use oil instead of ghee, so you just need to substitute the chicken with chickpeas and potatoes to create a vegetarian-friendly and vegan-friendly dish.
This recipe for chicken curry is a great dish to add to your make-ahead meal plan. The flavors of the Madras curry will continue to deepen as all of the components sit together.
Keep the leftovers stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. You can either keep leftover rice stored separately to reheat and enjoy with the curry, or quickly make fresh rice when ready to eat.
Because of the coconut milk, I do not recommend freezing leftovers.
Looking for More Delicious Indian-Inspired Recipes?
Check the printable recipe card below for the prep time, total time, and nutritional information.
Madras Curry Recipe with Chicken
Video
Ingredients
- ¼ cup ghee or oil
- 1 cup chopped red onion about half a large onion
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- 5-6 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
- 30 ounces diced tomatoes 2 – 15 ounce cans
- 15 ounces unsweetened coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons Madras curry powder
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ – ½ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder or cayenne
- 1 ½ – 2 pounds boneless chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Set a large dutch oven (or saucepot) over low heat. Add the ghee, red onion, cilantro, garlic, and ginger. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 10-12 minutes until the onions are very soft.
- Meanwhile, cut the chicken thighs into 1-inch pieces.
- Add the Madras curry powder, garam masala, salt, and Kashmiri chili powder. Stir and sauté another 5 minutes.
- Raise the heat to medium. Add the tomatoes and coconut milk. Stir well, then simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir the chicken pieces into the sauce. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- When ready to serve, stir the lemon juice into the curry. Then spoon over basmati rice and serve with extra cilantro.
Love this recipe !
Spicy curry that isn’t sweet. Just what we wanted!
I made it pretty much as instructed. Forgot the squeeze of lemon before serving. Doh!
I used garden tomatoes that I had blanched and frozen instead of canned. Approx same volume as 2 cans.
I have made this recipe at least a dozen times and it is delicious every single time! Has become a staple in the rotation in our house. I sometimes add in a tablespoon or so of dried fenugreek and it adds a lovely depth of flavour!
Fantastic, and easy. The flavors are intense and complex. We served it over brown basmati rice. I forgot to add the lemon juice at the end. There are only 2 of us, so I packed the leftovers up and froze them in 2 serving portions. This recipe is going in the permanent file, for sure.
Your recipe is just wonderful. Packed with layers of flavor, so easy to make too! Thanks for sharing such a great recipe.
Wanted to try something new for dinner so I made this and the whole family loved it! So flavorful and yummy.
Love curry dishes!! This does not disappoint!! We will be making this again!!
Thank you for the recipe! The directions were easy to follow and simple to execute thus I had a delicious dinner. I find letting the food settle overnight the taste really come out better the next day at least in my head it does. Now I have a quick and wonderful recipe to add to the roster.