Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Baked Coconut Curry Chicken

Coconut Curry Chicken


If you ever ate at my restaurant Avesta Eclectic Cuisine then you may have tried one of our most popular dishes, Curry Chicken. My Curry Chicken was a little different than traditional Indian Curry Chicken but ended up being one of our biggest hits. I have been missing the restaurant a lot lately and decided to make a simpler & quicker version of that Curry Chicken. So if you are one of those loyal customers and have been dreaming of Avesta's Curry Chicken...try this recipe while sipping on a Pomegranate Martini and reminisce about those fun nights in Delaware, Ohio.

Baked Coconut Curry Chicken


2 1/2 pounds chicken (I use chicken legs and boneless, skinless thighs & breasts, but you can use whatever combination of chicken you enjoy most)


1 can coconut milk


2 cups chicken broth


2-3 teaspoons cayenne pepper (depending on how hot you like your food)


2 tablespoons curry powder (again depending on how much you like curry)


1 teaspoon garlic powder


1 tablespoon sugar


salt & pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 375 degrees





Wash and pat dry the chicken with a paper towel. Pour the chicken broth and coconut milk in a baking dish then lay the chicken in the broth. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then sprinkle the rest of the spices all over the chicken and broth.


Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven, carefully remove the foil and turn chicken and mix up the broth mixture so the coconut milk breaks up. Put the baking dish back in the oven uncovered for another 30-45 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked and very tender.


I cook this chicken a little longer than necessary because I like the thighs and breasts to sort of shred and since the chicken is in a broth, it does not dry out with the extra cooking time.


Once you remove the baking dish from the oven, carefully pour the sauce into a saucepan and add 1 tablespoon butter. Mix using a whisk, bring the sauce to a boil and whisk till smooth and reduced. Taste the sauce to make sure it is spicy enough for your liking...if not...add more cayenne pepper and curry powder. Serve chicken over rice and pour the sauce over the chicken and rice.



This recipe is easy and quick because you basically throw everything in the baking dish.

As the Curry Chicken bakes the sauce starts forming, this is why you pull it out half way through the baking process to give the sauce a mix and turn the chicken.

To thicken the sauce, you pour it in a pan and bring it to a boil and let it reduce. The sauce should be a little spicy and a little sweet.

I sprinkle the top of mine with extra cayenne pepper. I like my curry to be super spicy!


If you don't like using chicken on the bone, you can use just boneless chicken but I do advice you use both breasts and thighs as breasts do tend to be more dry and the dark meat really adds to the dish. If you use all boneless meat, before serving, shred the chicken and mix up the dark and white meat. If you are vegetarian, substitute the chicken with tofu chunks or veggies, but obviously you won't need to cook these as long as chicken.


Still delicious the next day! I like pouring some sauce on my rice the night before and letting it soak up the sauce then warming it up the next day......talk about good stuff! I think it's even better the next day after the rice soaks up all that flavor!!!!

17 comments:

Barrett said...

Hello! I found this recipe on Foodgawker and baked this for dinner tonight. The whole house still smells delicious. Very good, very easy. Thanks!

avesta said...

Thanks so much Barrett! It is simple and a keeper of a recipe...glad you enjoyed it!!!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

Thanks for the wonderful recipe. I love to eat curry chicken. I make it once or twice a month.

epicrious said...

I'm wondering why you opted not to brown the chicken before baking, or why you use garlic powder?

I make something similar but brown the chicken(with skin) in a skillet. And I think you can get better flavour from fresh garlic, chili peppers and your own curry spice mix.

Also it's nice to throw in some chopped onion, pepper and cauliflower(any veggies really).

avesta said...

Thanks for your comments epicrious and if you read my whole entry you will see that this specific version of curry chicken that I made was made to be quick and easy for my readers. That is why I used the ingredients that I used and did not want to go through the steps of browning the chicken for this particular quick and easy recipe.

There are so many versions of curry chicken out there and even with my Indian friends I have had many different versions, some with vegetables and some without...some with garlic powder and some with fresh garlic and even some without garlic!

I especially like to create recipes with a little ethnic flavor for my readers using fewer ingredients and ingredients that they already have in their cabinets so that they don't get scared away or feel overwhelmed.

I know it may sound crazy to you but a lot of people I know who are not foodies or gourmet chefs don't always have fresh garlic and peppers on hand. But they almost always have chicken in the freezer and spices in their cabinet.

This is a recipe that a mom could whip up easily without a lot of hassle and it's mild enough for their families to try and probably even like without being too heavy on curry, pepper or garlic.

A lot of people who try this recipe have said they never liked curry before but like this recipe...I think that's great because you and I may love a strong curry flavor but some do not so this is a good recipe for those who do not to take baby steps into finding a love for curry.

I do appreciate how you choose to make your curry chicken. thanks.

Linoleum said...

I just made this tonight-- delicious! Thanks! I made it in a cast iron enamel pot, which worked out great--instead covering with foil I just put the lid on, and it could go straight from oven to stovetop for any additional sauce thickening.

avesta said...

good point! I love using my dutch oven for this recipe, too!

Unknown said...

I messed up the recipe. Didn't use chicken stock because I didn't have any. Forgot to put the foil on too. And didn't even finish the sauce properly. But it was still really good and SO simple. I love when I make my curry chicken but having to cut up all the raw chicken then saute onions and brown the chicken are just not possible with three little kids running around. Thanks for giving me a tasty easy substitute!!

nina said...

hi avesta...i was looking for a curried chicken recipe that i could bake in the oven (i have always made a saucy stovetop version with pre-cooked chicken) and google led me to you. this recipe sounds wonderful and is JUST what i was looking for. i appreciate that there is no browning involved (!, and that i can bump up or down the spices to my own tastes. in the middle of winter, with limited fresh spices (garlic, lemongrass) this will be perfect for tonight. thanks SO MUCH for sharing this with all of us...

Masha said...

This recipe was fantastic!!! I definitly added extra curry powder and cayenne. I also used fresh garlic and skipped the sugar. The best part was I had home made chicken broth in the freezer that I think added a lot of flavor! My boyfriend raved about the dish and so did my coworkers and boss! Thank you so much for the recipe! Any ideas or tweaks to added more depth of flavor or just to rty something different, are greatly appreciated!! I'll definitely be checking your page for new curry posts!

Anonymous said...

Hi Avesta - I found your site by doing a coconut/chicken/bake search in google. I appreciate your recipe so much. I cook out of necessity for my family - and not because I enjoy it. But I wanted to say how awesome and easy your recipe was. If you had anything complex - I would have not been able to do it. And the taste is incredible. The only thing I did wrong was use half frozen chicken - which gave me ALOT of liquid. I figure though, it will make a great home made soup tomorrow. Thanks so much Avesta

rob524teach said...

Going to try this tonight...sounds great! Amen to the comment about needing something easy to whip up...I am a mom of 2 toddlers. I have chicken in the fridge and coconut milk in the pantry!!

Yvonne Lerew said...

Very good dish - I didn't have time to go to the store but had the ingredients on hand. The family enjoyed it - and so did I. Thanks!

Unknown said...

I made this yesterday and it was awesome! Thank you!

Wendy said...

I was just looking for a chicken curry recipe online and feel like I just struck gold!! I moved to Denver 5 years ago from Delaware and missed your restaurant terribly!!! How ironic that I found your site!! AND how ironic that you have this recipe up here. Thank you Avesta for posting this, I will be making this tonight and reminiscing about a beer at the Backstretch followed by dinner at Avestas!!! What good times!!!

Anonymous said...

Great recipe!!! Thanks so much!!!

Rashida said...

I have made this several times already and I LOVE it! Its my favorite recipe to share. Its something my entire family enjoy and its so easy to make. Thanks!