Cardamom and Tea

Chicken Curry

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This chicken curry is an Assyrian-style stew my mom and grandmother have always made, and one my sister, brother, and I still cook today.

There are a lot of versions of chicken curry out there, and this one is pretty simple. The ingredients are straightforward—chicken, a few vegetables, and a blend of spices you can either buy or make yourself. I’ve got a recipe for yellow curry powder if you’re feeling adventurous.

But even with a simple recipe like this one, the flavor is anything but basic. The magic comes from layering the aromatics and giving the chicken curry time to simmer.

chicken curry

What kind of curry should I use for chicken curry?

One question I get a lot is about the curry powder. What kind should you use? And what is curry powder anyway?

What you should use: Supermarket yellow curry blends can be a bit all over the place. Some are mostly just turmeric, while some have more complexity. For this chicken curry recipe, you want to find something with a lot of fenugreek. My grandmother swears by “Madras curry powder,” which is very similar to the recipe I linked to above. You want to try to find something with turmeric and a decent amount of fenugreek. But even if all you can find it a random shaker of yellow curry powder from your local supermarket, that will work just fine.

What yellow curry powder is: Yellow curry powder shows up in a lot of Assyrian and Iraqi cooking. It’s not a traditional ingredient in the oldest sense, but it’s become a beloved part of our cooking. It’s just one of those staples we always have on hand. Curry powder itself has a winding global history, with ties to British colonial trade and South Asian cuisine. If you’re curious to dig deeper, writers like Sucharita Kanjilal, Naben Ruthnum, and Little Global Chefs offer thoughtful perspectives on that history.

chicken curry
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Chicken Curry

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5 from 2 reviews

  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 50 to 60 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoon cooking olive oil, divided into thirds
  • Salt to taste (about 1 teaspoon total)
  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into small pieces *
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 3 tablespoons yellow curry powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
  • 1 cup chicken stock or water
  • 14 1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 1 pound waxy potatoes, cut into large 3/4-inch chunks **
  • 7 ounces carrots, cut into large chunks
  • For garnish: 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro, or to taste
  • Serve with basmati rice

Instructions

  1. Heat a stock pot over high heat for 2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon oil, swirl it around the pan to coat, and immediately add the chicken and salt to taste (about 1/4 to 3/4 teaspoon, depending on your preference).
  2. Sauté the chicken for about 10 to 14 minutes, scraping the chicken up and stirring every minute or two, until the liquids have evaporated, the chicken has turned golden-brown, and there are some brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Adjust the heat as necessary while you’re sautéing to make sure the chicken neither burns nor steams.
  3. Reduce the heat to medium-low, push the chicken to the outer edge of the stock pot, and add the onions to the center, followed by 1 tablespoon oil. Season with a pinch of salt.
  4. Cook the onions, stirring the center occasionally, until they have softened, about 4 minutes. Adjust the heat to prevent them from browning.
  5. Reduce heat to low, add the curry powder, red pepper flakes, and the final tablespoon of oil, and stir everything together for 1 minute.
  6. Add the stock or water to the pot, adjust heat to high, and immediately use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up the brown bits on the bottom of the stockpot.
  7. Add the can of tomatoes, potatoes, and carrots. Stir together, taste, and adjust the seasoning as necessary by adding more salt.
  8. Once it comes to a simmer, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of your vegetables. To test whether it’s done, take a potato out of the pot with a spoon and try cutting it in half. If it’s still crunchy, continue cooking, covered, testing every so often for doneness.
  9. Serve the chicken curry garnished with cilantro.

Notes

* If you’re using bone-in chicken thighs, this comes from about 3 1/4 pounds bone-in skin-on chicken thighs. Here’s a helpful video on deboning chicken thighs. If you’d prefer to use chicken breast instead of chicken thighs, sauté the chicken breast pieces over high heat for about 7 minutes, until they’re no longer pink inside, and remove them to a plate before adding the onions to the pot. Cook everything else separately according to the recipe, then add the chicken back in once the potatoes are done, and simmer everything for 2 to 3 minutes.

** You can use any combination of Yukon gold, Adirondack blue, new, red, or another similar potato (just don’t use russets, which will fall apart too much). If the potatoes are very small, you can just cut them in half.

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2025 update: I edited this post (originally posted 2 Nov 2017) to have more relevant information before the recipe + to give a bit more historical and personal background on the recipe. I also added a video of the recipe.

No-cook Tabbouleh

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You don’t have to even boil a pot of water to make this tabbouleh. And here’s the best part: instead of using plain water, the bulgur softens in lemon juice and tomato juices, which means it actually gets more flavorful as it sits. It’s great when the easiest way is also the tastiest way (and an old family tradition!).

This is the exact recipe my family makes, carefully measured so you can have the same bright, herb-packed tabbouleh I grew up with.

Jump to the recipe to hit the ground running, or read on for a few tricks for making the best tabbouleh ever.

how to make really good tabbouleh

1) Don’t use “too much” bulgur

The heart of an authentic tabbouleh is in the herbs. The parsley, mint, and green onion aren’t just accents. They’re the main event! So keep an eye on your ratios and let those flavorful greens shine.

The most important ratio is bulgur:parsley. There is plenty of debate about how much bulgur to add to tabbouleh, and I tend to land somewhere in the middle. Lebanese tabbouleh is known for having the absolute least bulgur, so if you’d like to make Lebanese tabbouleh, use a bit less than what this recipe calls for.

But whether you’re in the middle or on another side of the spectrum, there’s one thing we can all agree on: there should never be “too much” bulgur in tabbouleh. What counts as ‘too much” will shift from person to person, and there is no one way to make an authentic tabbouleh, but tabbouleh should never feel grain-heavy. The bulgur is there for texture and body. This isn’t pasta salad.

2) Skip the boiling—soak your bulgur in lemon and tomato juice instead

One thing my family has always insisted on: soak the bulgur in something flavorful instead of boiling it. That might be why we use a bit more than just a pinch. We make sure every one of those grains earns its keep. This isn’t just a life hack I came up with—it’s actually an old family tradition.

Instead of boiling or soaking it in plain water, we let the fine bulgur soak up lemon juice adn tomato juices. It’s a small shift that makes a big difference. There are no extra pots and every bite is layered with brightness and depth.

Just a heads-up: this will only work with fine bulgur. If you’re using anything coarser, check the notes at the end of the recipe for adjustments.

3) Dry your herbs well and use a sharp knife

Since herbs are the backbone of any authentic tabbouleh recipe, we should take extra care with them. Start by drying them thoroughly—a salad spinner works great, but patting them dry with towels works too. Any leftover moisture can make the herbs mushy or cause them to brown, especially delicate mint.

Next, grab your sharpest knife. A dull blade will mash the herbs instead of slicing them cleanly, and this will affect the texture and appearance. If you want to get faster at chopping, check out my post on how to chop herbs.

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No-cook Tabbouleh (my family’s recipe)

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5 from 1 review

  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup (150g) fine burghul/bulgur #1 *
  • 2 cups (425g) minced tomatoes, with their juices (from about 3 medium tomatoes)
  • 1/3 cup (80g) lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 cups (100g) finely minced flat-leaf parsley leaves (from about 2 big bunches)**
  • 3/4 cup (45g) finely minced green onions (from less than 1 bunch)
  • 1 cup (35g) minced mint leaves (from about 1 big bunch, or 2 smaller ones)
  • 1/4 cup (45g) extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. If you’re using fine burghul/bulgur #1, you should not cook your burghul in hot water; instead, soak the burghul in a mixing bowl with the minced tomatoes, their juices, the lemon juice, and a pinch of salt (to taste). Let the mixture soak while you prep the rest of the ingredients (about 20 minutes). The bulgur will continue to hydrate once you’ve mixed the salad together.
  2. Add the parsley, green onions, and mint to the bulgur and tomato mixture, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with pepper. Mix well, and let it sit for about 10 minutes before salting and serving. You can enjoy it for about 48 hours, but if you’re making it for guests, you should serve it within about 30 minutes of mixing. Season with salt (to taste) immediately before serving.

Notes

* You can find burghul #1/fine bulgur at most Middle Eastern markets, and some international sections of grocery stores. If you can’t find a source near you, you can substitute couscous, cracked wheat, or coarse bulgur. These will need to be cooked in boiling water until al dente, rinsed, strained well, and then soaked with the tomatoes and lemon juice for about ten minutes. Burghul #1 is pre-cooked and very fine, so it only needs to be soaked, rather than cooked.

** Make sure your herbs are dried very well with a towel or spin-dryer before mincing. Use the sharpest knife you have, so that you can cut through the herbs cleanly, instead of crushing them. For precision, all of the ingredients in this recipe are measured after mincing, so the 2 cups [100g] finely minced parsley is just the leaves themselves, not the weight of the entire bunch (make sure you buy enough).

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2025 update: I originally posted this recipe on 8 November 2018, and I recently updated it to make the information before the recipe a bit more organized and useful. I’ve also reorganized the recipe to be a bit more streamlined for folks using volumetric measurements (most readers), but kept both measurements. Otherwise, the recipe is essentially the same. Oh and I added a video!