Easy Hyderabadi Style Creamy Chicken

Easy Hyderabadi-Style Creamy Chicken

Rich, aromatic, and slow-cooked to perfection, the shortcut version for the lazy? Not quite. Cooking doesn’t have to take all your time to taste this good. (Just like how I am using an AI chatbot to make this blogpost easier)

Of course some recipes demand time, patience, and multiple steps. This isn’t one of them. 

This Hyderabadi-style creamy chicken delivers deep, layered flavor with a surprisingly simple method: fry the onions, dump everything in, and let it cook low and slow. No separate marination, no complicated staging, just real ingredients coming together beautifully. One can use the microwave to speed up the process of frying the onions too.

The result? A rich, nutty, gently spiced chicken curry that tastes like it took hours of effort.

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🧂 Ingredients

Main

1. 1 kg chicken (with bones, cleaned)

2. Juice of 1 lemon

3. 2 tsp ginger, garlic paste

4. 1 tsp green chili paste 

5. 1 cup curd (whisked)

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Nut & Coconut Base

5. 10 almonds 

6. 10 cashews 

7. ½ cup fresh coconut

Grind all the above together

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Spice Powders

8. 1 tsp turmeric

9. 2 1/2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder

10. 1 tsp pepper powder

11. 1½ tsp cumin powder

12. 2 tsp coriander powder

13. 1 tsp garam masala

14. Salt to taste

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Whole Spices & Fat

15. 1–2 small cinnamon sticks

16. 1 tsp shahi jeera

17. ¼ tsp cardamom powder (or 2 pods)

18. 2 tbsp ghee

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Fresh Additions

19. 2 large onions (thinly sliced)

20. 1 handful mint leaves

21. 1 handful coriander leaves

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Optional Smoke

22. Small piece of charcoal

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👩‍🍳 Method

1️⃣ Fry the onions

Heat ghee in a heavy-bottomed pot.
Add sliced onions and fry until golden brown and slightly crisp.

Remove half and set aside for garnish (optional, but recommended).

Quick Fried Onions (Microwave + Pan)

Ingredients

• 2 onions (thinly sliced)
• 2 tbsp oil/ghee
• Pinch of salt

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Method

1️⃣ Microwave

• Mix onions + 1tbsp oil/ghee + salt
• Microwave 8–10 mins, stirring once or twice
  👉 Soft, lightly golden

2️⃣ Pan finish

• Heat 1 tbsp oil/ghee
• Cook onions on medium-high 4–6 mins
  👉 Deep golden, slightly crisp

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Done!

Almost restaurant-style fried onions in half the time.

Tip: Stop at golden, they darken after removing.

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2️⃣ Dump everything in

To the same pot, add:

• Chicken

• Lemon juice

• Ginger-garlic-chilli paste

• Whisked curd

• Almond, cashew, and coconut pastes

• All spice powders

• Whole spices

• Mint and coriander leaves

Mix everything well directly in the pot.

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3️⃣ Slow cook (dum style)

• Cover tightly with a lid

• Cook on low flame for about 40 minutes

• Stir once or twice in between

The chicken will release its own juices, and the gravy will slowly turn thick, creamy, and deeply flavorful.

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4️⃣ Optional smoke (for that extra magic)

Place a small bowl inside the pot with a piece of hot charcoal.
Drizzle a little ghee over it, cover immediately, and let it smoke for 2–3 minutes.

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5️⃣ Finish

• Garnish with the reserved fried onions

• Let it rest for 5–10 minutes before serving

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🍽️ Serve With

• Naan

• Roti

• Paratha / Parotta / Chapati

• Jeera rice

• Plain rice

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✨ Tips for Best Results

• Keep the flame low to prevent the curd from splitting

• No extra water needed—the chicken cooks in its own juices

• Resting the dish enhances flavor and texture

• Bone-in chicken gives the best taste

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⚡ The Shortcut That Works

No marination.
No complicated layering.

Just:

Fry → Dump → Slow cook

And somehow, it still tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen.

Bitter gourd curry / Pavakka curry

Discovered another very tasty way to eat this vegetable which many hate. Have already posted another recipe that was my mother's favorite and mine too. But this one is going to be a regular since the bitterness is minimal or even absent.

This is my lunchbox today.. 

Bitter gourd curry / Pavakka Curry

Ingredients

1. Bitter gourd sliced lengthwise - 1 cup (1 medium bitter gourd)

2- Onion sliced - 1 medium

3. Green Chilly sliced - 2

4. Ginger sliced - 1 inch

4. Coriander powder - 1 or more tspn

6. Chilly powder - 2 tspn

7. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tspn

8. Curry leaves - a bunch

9. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tspn

10. Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tspn

11. Tamarind soaked in 1/2 cup of water 

Method

Heat 2 teaspoons of oil and add the mustard and fenugreek seeds. After it splutters, add the onion, ginger and chilly and sauté until soft. Now add the powders and sauté for a few seconds before adding the sliced bitter gourd. Fry for a while and then add a cup of water. Let it cook until done. Now add the tamarind water and let the curry boil for some more time. You can adjust the water if you need more. Finally add the curry leaves and enjoy with rice.

Vegetables in curd

Invented another easy and tasty vegetable curry for poori, chappathi etc.

Ingredients

1. Cubed mixed vegetables - 1 or more cup

2. Cumin seeds - 1 tspn

3. Sliced onion - 1

4. Chilly and coriander powder - 1 tspn each

5. Garam masala and turmeric powder- 1/2 tspn each

6. Curd - 2 tbspn

7. Gram powder - 2 tbspn

8. Coriander leaves - 2 tbspn

9. Kasoori methi - 1 tbspn

10. Sliced garlic - 3 cloves

Method

Heat one tbspn of oil and fry cumin seeds. Once fried, saute onion and garlic for a few minutes and add the powders and fry for a few seconds. Now add the vegetables and 2 cups of water. Once almost cooked, add the gram powder. Boil until the raw taste leaves. Now add the curd and cook for a while. Add more water if necessary. Finally add the coriander and methi leaves and swutch off the stove after a minute.

Enjoy!

Green Gram Curry

Another simple but tasty curry for chappathi/nan/bead etc.

Ingredients

1- Green gram - 1 cup (soak it in water for a few hours)
2- Ginger, finely chopped - 1 + 1 tspn
3- Chilly Powder - 1 tspn
4- Cinnamon and Cardamom powder - 1tspn
5- Fried onions (either small or big) - 1/4 cup
6- Green Chilly chopped - 1 tspn
7- Cream - 50 ml
8- Chopped coriander leaves - a bunch

Method

Boil the green gram along with a teaspoon of ginger, chilly powder and salt until cooked. Add the fried onions, remaining ginger and green chilly. Let it boil a little while. Now add the cream and finally garnish it with chopped coriander leaves.

Good to eat!

 

Fava Beans Curry

The original recipe called for Black Eyed Beans or the White Beans but since I had only Fava Beans I used it. It turned out good except that it can be a slightly bitter but anything bitter is always good for your health! :)

Fava Beans / Black Eyed Beans Curry

Ingredients

1- Fava Beans or Black Eyed Beans - 2 cups
2- Small onions - 10
3- Coriander Powder - 1 tbspn
4- Turmeric Powder - 3/4 tspn
5- Chilly Powder - 2 tbspn (adjust as per your tolerance level)
6- Cumin and Saunf seeds - 1 tspn each
7- Asafoetida - 1 tspn
8- Big onion - 2 medium
9- Tomato - 2
10- Shredded coconut - 1/2 cup or 3 tbsnpn coconut powder
11- Cury leaves - enough
12 - Tamarind paste - 1 tbspn

Method

Soak the beans in water for 4-5 hours and pressure cook it for 10-15 minutes. Grind tomato, Onion and Saunf seeds and set aside. If you are using shredded coconut, grind the same and set aside. Heat enough oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Fry the cumin seeds along with the asafoetida. Add chopped onions and fry until browned. Fry the ground mixture of tomato/onion/saunf until oil leaves the side. Add the beans and salt and fry for a minute. Now add the powders and fry for a while. Add the turmeric paste with enough water and once it boils, add the ground coconut or coconut powder and boil until the curry has thickened to your taste.

Enjoy with rice or chappathi.

Paneer Peas Masala

Have always enjoyed this dish in the restaurant but was yet to try it at home. Now I did and it is going to be a frequent one for sure. The recipe courtesy goes to Maria of Maria's Menu. The original recipe calls for poppy seeds which is a banned item here in Kuwait.

Ingredients

1.       Paneer – 250 gms

2.       Peas – ½ cup (I used frozen peas)

3.       Onion – 2 medium, chopped finely

4.       Crushed/grated ginger and garlic – 1½ – 2 tsp, each

5.       Chilli powder – 2 tsp

6.       Coriander powder – 2- 21/2 tsp

7.       Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

8.       Garam masala – ½ -1 tsp

9.       Tomato – 1-2 medium, pureed

10.   Kasuri methi – ½ tbsp

11.   Jeera – ¼ tsp

12.   Cashew nut or Almonds –2 tbsp

13.   Salt

14.   Oil

15.   Coriander leaves

Method

Soak cashew nut 2 tbsp hot water for 10-15 mins. Grind them to a smooth paste. Heat oil in a pan and add jeera. Add onion and fry till it becomes golden brown in colour. Add grated/crushed ginger and garlic. Cook for 2-3 mins, till the raw smell goes. Add the masala powders. Cook for 2-3 mins. Add pureed tomato, salt and kasuri methi. Mix well. When oil starts appearing, add paneer and peas. Mix well. Add 1.5 cups hot water. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat. Cover and cook till the gravy thickens. Add ¼ -1/2 cup hot water to cashew poppy paste. Mix well and add to the curry. Stir and let it cook for 3-5 mins. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and remove from fire. 

The dish was lip smacking and the entire family enjoyed it!