Three Ingredient Chicken Curry – weeknight savior!

Cooking is a chore. There is no way to get around it or to blunt this reality. It is relaxing when the mood is relaxed and there aren’t any major time constraints. But on a regular basis, it can be exhausting. Yet, we cook! I try as much as possible to cook meals at home because that way I know what went into it. This is where the Three Ingredient Chicken comes handy. Not only is it easy and quick, I don’t need to gather any special ingredients, and importantly, delicious served with fresh chapati or quinoa.

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Chicken to the rescue!

While chicken is often sitting in my fridge and freezer, the pandemic months have made it more ubiquitous. A couple of times a week we’ve eaten one kind of chicken or the other – curried over rice or quinoa, roasted in the oven with lots of garlic or cooked with a dry rub for wraps. There is something about chicken that makes it really attractive! To me the nutritional value of this ingredient makes it worthwhile even with the risk of getting bored. Granted it isn’t a choice for everyone – vegetarians, vegans or for those opposed to meat for ethical reasons. But for those of us who do consume meat, specifically chicken, one serving of chicken (thighs in this case) provides 56% of the daily value of protein. With eggs and other sources this has us covered most days. I wouldn’t suggest that you do as I do, but if you are at a loss for what to cook trust that a simple chicken dish like this three ingredient chicken one will save the day. It has mine, multiple times in the past few months!

So, what are the three ingredients?

The simplicity of cooking with few ingredients always reminds me of dhaba food. These roadside eateries along India’s highways usually serve vegetarian food cooked with few basic ingredients that is absolutely delicious. I am taking a leaf out of their book! The three ingredients are essentially a combination of aromatics and spices added to the chicken itself. So, yes its three in addition to the chicken! These include – a seed (usually cumin), an aromatic (garlic or ginger, sometimes curry leaves as well) and ground spices (mostly turmeric, chili powder and black pepper) – pantry staples that you will undoubtedly have! The best thing is, if you are out of cumin or perhaps haven’t ventured far enough to stock and use it, worry not. The three ingredient chicken is a forgiving non-recipe method of cooking chicken. Replace it with another mildly aromatic spice – put in a bay leaf or half an inch piece of cinnamon or 2- 3 cloves. If all these are out the question too, then do as I often do – use whole peppercorns. Start small to see which flavors work. The key to cooking with balance is to know what can be added later and what cannot. Once the spices and salt are in they cannot be extracted. So it is better to err in favor of caution, start mild and then build flavor. You can alway add more spice to whatever you cook!

Ingredients

• Chicken ~ 1.3 lbs or about 500-600 grams (boneless, skinless thighs cut into 2 inch cubes)
• Olive oil ~ 2 tbsp
• Salt ~ to taste
• Water ~ as needed

Seeds/ whole spices: use one or a combination

• 1 tsp of cumin seeds – can be replaced by whole peppercorns or 1-2 bay leaves or, a cinnamon stick or, coriander seeds or even 4-5 cloves. Do not hesitate to combine any of these. Whole spices are friends!

Aromatics: can use all together, or just one or any two.

• Garlic ~ 4 to 5 cloves, crushed and roughly chopped
• Ginger ~ one inch piece, finely chopped
• Curry leaves ~ 8 to 10 leaves, dry or fresh

Ground Spices:

• Black Pepper ~ a pinch
• Red chilli powder ~ 1 tsp
• Turmeric ~ 1/2 tsp
• Optional – coriander powder and/or garam masala

Optional ingredients:

• Onions ~ 1/2 large red, or whole medium sized onion
• Garnish – chopped coriander/cilantro leaves or parsley, lime juice

Prep time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 35 – 45 minutes (until chicken is done) Total: 40 – 50 minutes

Serves 2 – 3 persons

Using an Instant Pot? I’ve got you covered! Watch & cook along.

How to make Three Ingredient Chicken:

To begin, remove chicken from the fridge and let it sit while you prep. If frozen, thaw in a microwave following instructions on the package. I would highly recommend thawing overnight in the fridge to skip this. In my experience defrosting in the microwave inadvertently leads to the edges getting slightly cooked and that might in fact increase the risk of infection. Once thawed slice chicken into roughly 1.5 to 2 inch cubes. Go with what feels manageable, just not too small.

Aromatics are key in this forgiving non-recipe!

Next, peel and roughly chop 4-5 garlic pods. If you are out of fresh garlic replace with a teaspoon of garlic paste or chopped garlic. I find these to be more concentrated in flavour than fresh garlic. If using ginger instead or both – clean it and chop finely. Of late I use ginger with its skin on and find that it cooks just as well and is very flavorful. Do as you prefer!

And, now to the cooking. Put a heavy bottom wok, pan or dutch oven on the stove at medium high heat. Let it warm up for a few minutes. Then add olive oil to it followed by cumin seeds or whole peppercorns – whichever whole spice you are using. Once spluttering add garlic (or both ginger and garlic). Cook on medium heat until golden brown and fragrant. Don’t overcook. Burnt garlic has a bitter aftertaste.

Spice it up – but not too much

Measure salt, turmeric, red chili powder and a pinch of black pepper (if you didn’t already use whole peppercorns) in a bowl and mix with 1 to 2 tsp of water to make a thick paste. Since we are cooking initially without any wet ingredients, it helps to sauté spices with water. This method prevents overcooking and burning of powdered spices. Add this to the pot, reduce heat and sauté for just about a minute. Add a few more spoonfuls of water if need to prevent it from burning.

Follow this non-recipe roadmap & shape it as you like!

Before you add spices, you could sauté onion if you are so inclined. There are not firm rules here. We are following a very accommodating non-recipe for the three ingredient chicken. Once you sauté onions – cook until translucent or just starting to brown – then add the spice mix.

Make it luscious with this easy trick. They won’t know!

If you have an immersion blender, now would be a good time to use it. Once onions are done. Add in 2 to 4 tbsp of water and blend with an immersion blender until you get a coarse gravy. Let this come to a quick boil before adding chicken. Believe you me, this takes the three ingredient chicken to a whole new level! If not using onions, keep moving on. Based on how long you roast the onions and how red the chili powder is, the gravy will look different – from a turmeric hue to fiery red, the range can be wide. Watch the video and you’ll see what I mean!

Lastly, the chicken

Finally, add chicken. Increase heat to medium high. Turn the chicken a couple of times until all sides are slightly brown and the chicken is opaque. Reduce heat to medium low, add about 3/4 to 1 cup water – just enough to level with chicken, not cover it. Cover the pan/pot and cook covered for 20 minutes. Check in between – turn the chicken and add more water if needed. At the end you are looking for chicken with a small amount of curry, not swimming in it. For extra flavor I’ve started adding curry leaves at the end. During the pandemic I found dry curry leaves. They steep well as the chicken cooks and impart a mild flavor.

Before you take chicken off the heat check by slicing a piece to its center. When cooked chicken should be entirely opaque/whitish. Or check the internal temperature. Chicken is safe when it has reached an internal temperature of 165F.

Three Ingredient Chicken is Ready!

Serve this chicken, garnished with freshly chopped herbs (cilantro or parsley) over quinoa or couscous or along with fresh whole wheat chapatis, a bowl of yogurt and some salad. I love adding a hint of tang with lime juice. That’s it! While the chicken cooks, you can easily get your tidings and sides ready. Find some quinoa recipes here.