Green Masala Chicken
- Total Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 1½pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
- Heaping ⅓ cup coriander (cilantro) chutney
- 1½tablespoons green chile chutney
- 3tablespoons store-bought garlic paste, or 2 tablespoons finely minced fresh garlic (from about 4 large cloves)
- 1½tablespoons store-bought ginger paste, or 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger (from about a 1-inch piece)
- 2tablespoons plain whole-milk or low-fat yogurt
- 5tablespoons canola or other neutral oil
- Kosher salt
- 1jumbo yellow or red onion, chopped into roughly 1-inch chunks
- 2garlic cloves, minced
- Cooked rice, whole grains or chapati, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
538 calories; 22 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 43 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 22 grams sugars; 41 grams protein; 746 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
In a large bowl, stir together the chicken, chutneys, garlic and ginger pastes, and yogurt. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the oil and 1½ teaspoons salt. Proceed right away, or cover and marinate in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
- Step 2
Add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil to a large, 12-inch lidded skillet. Warm the oil, uncovered, over high heat until shimmering, then decrease the heat to medium-high and add the chopped onion and garlic. Season with a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, put the lid on the skillet and cook for an additional 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion has gone from translucent to lightly golden, shrunken and soft.
- Step 3
Return the heat to medium-high, scrape in the chicken along with all the marinade, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes. Put the lid back on, and cook for 2 more minutes. Uncover the skillet; the chicken should be just about cooked through and the sauce bubbling and thick. Cook for 2 to 4 more minutes to thicken the sauce (it shouldn’t be soupy), but be careful not to overcook the chicken.
- Step 4
Serve over rice or other whole grains, or with flatbread like chapati on the side.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
anita
My mother’s standby chutney: a handful of fresh cilantro, one whole green apple (chopped but unpeeled) juice of one lemon, garlic clove and 1 fresh green chili (more if you like it hot). Add everything to a blender or food processor and mix until fairly smooth.
Alex
Would appreciate a recipe for homemade cilantro chutney. Or a suggested substitution. I don't really fancy ordering a condiment online for a single recipe and I have plenty of cilantro growing in my garden! I guess I would probably try making this in my instant pot and just adding a bunch of cilantro and then blitzing with my immersion blender at the end, but I'm guessing there are a bunch of additional spices I would need to add.
Seren
For the chutney recipe google "coriander chutney" (what the Indians call it) or "cilantro chutney". They already have ginger and green chilis in it. I would just add the extra garlic (fresh) and ginger (fresh) and yogurt to the blender along with the chutney ingredients from your online recipe and proceed with the rest of this recipe. I am Indian and always use fresh ginger or garlic rather than the highly processed pastes with additives and preservatives, from the Indian shop.
stephanie
an all-in-one note to my future self: thanks to maureen for reminding me i had this recipe for green chile chutney already bookmarked! https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021355-green-chile-chutney and to anita for her mom's cilantro chutney: "a handful of fresh cilantro, one whole green apple (chopped but unpeeled) juice of one lemon, garlic clove and 1 fresh green chili (more if you like it hot). Add everything to a blender or food processor and mix until fairly smooth."
anita
My mom’s chutney: Generous handful or bunch of fresh cilantro 2 green apples - chopped but unpeeled Juice of one lemon 1 garlic clove Salt 1 green chili - more if you like it hot Add everything to a blender or food processor and mix.
Dru
Once again I find the quantity of ginger prescribed defined as a one inch piece. One inch by what, please. A small knob of ginger could be only one-half an inch thick or it could be a whole inch or more. What final quantity of ginger should I have from my one inch piece? Variable measurements are not helpful. I love ginger, but too much could be overpowering. If there is something I am supposed to have read, please point me in the proper direction or indicate the level flavor sought.
Seren
Coriander/Cilantro chutney is basically a dip for snacks such as dosas or samosas and is blended not cooked. To use as a marinade for meat you beef up this very simple sauce (chutney = mashed) with extra garlic, chili, ginger and yogurt blended in. Bas!
derrick
Absolutely follow the suggestions to add a Granny Smith apple and just blend all the chutney ingredients in fresh at once. It won’t make for quite a saturated green like the photo, but the flavor will be worth it.
snarly
Delicious and easy. I used the Instant pot (sautéed chicken & red onion first, then added the ginger and garlic, then the other ingredients, 5 minutes high pressure, quick release). Store-bought green chutney, but fresh ginger and garlic, topped with fresh cilantro from the garden. Oh, subbed coconut cream for the yogurt to make it kosher/non-dairy. The sauce is very bright and appealing, tho the fluorescent neon-green chicken chunks in the beautiful darker-green sauce were a bit unnerving.
Seren
https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/coriander-chutney/ Cilantro, ginger, green chili, cumin, lemon juice, salt.
Raul
For those of us who have the genetic code that makes cilantro taste like soap, no need to worry about cilantro chutney! Leave it entirely out; just use another chutney. I call it, “La Hoja del Diablo.” (Devil’s Leaf.)
banana
Oh and also: I used the green chile chutney and mint chutney recipes from the NYTimes
bill m
Good recipe but I'd omit the salt from the marinade next time as chutneys are salty enough
MK Cunniff
This was very flavorful, and good. A little labor intensive, as I made both chutneys from scratch. There are recipes for both online, so not a mystery, and not hard to do. I used some of the leftover green chili chutney in some mayonnaise to serve with artichokes for another meal. It was also delicious.
Casey
I am a huge fan of Sarah’s recipes! This was delicious, easy, full of flavor. Thank you Sarah!
Michael C
Would Italian parsley work as a substitute for cilantro? My wife has the anti-cilantro gene.
Bellaverdi
I really got confused with the various chutneys, in the end, though, it was a tasty dish. I’ll prepare it again using the recommended Trader Joe preparations for cilantro chutneys. Served with Basmati rice.
Michael
Made this and loved it! Created my own chutney sans cilantro. Question: Can I add carrots or spinach or peas to add more veggies to the finished dish? Any thoughts?
Henry Parsons
This recipe was delicious as written, but the store-bought coriander and green chili chutneys had so much food coloring in them that the chicken was tinted an alarming blue-green hue. When I prepare this again, I’ll look for recipes for both of those components instead of buying the jarred variety.
Pantry chef
My green chicken was super light green and didn't look like the picture in the recipe, so here's what I did - follow all the steps above AND 1. blanch some spinach & make a paste out of it (run the spinach under cold water after blanching to put it in the blender instantly) 2. Add 2 Tbsp tomato paste, mix it in well Go medium high on the flame for 1 min and lower with lid off so thicken the sauce!
modifications
Couldn't find cilantro chutney at a nearby store and didn't want to take the time to make it myself. Decided to substitute Trader Joe's Zhoug Sauce for both chutneys and let me tell you.... A , 10/10, would recommend. Warning, sauce is spicy so be sure to modify with yogurt if you need a milder dish.
Bill
The garlic-ginger paste is very versatile for Indian, Chinese, and other Asian cooking; it's easy to make and have fresh on hand. 1:1 ratio by weight of garlic and peeled ginger. Chop in a food processor, and add some olive oil to help the chopped mass flow back to the bottom for more chopping to get to your desired consistency. Put it an airtight jar in fridge. The oil also helps to keep air out and the paste fresh.
Matt
I normally follow recipes pretty closely, but this one, I winged it. I had homemade cilantro chutney in the freezer, and so I used that -- definitely more than the recipe called for. Not even exactly sure what was in the chutney - cilantro, garlic, ginger, lime, maybe a serrano? This was very good, easy, health, and flavorful. Great use for leftover chutney (which I often make to use up wilting herbs).
Mary
found it to be one note and color off-putting. Hoping taste develops and leftovers are better. I did use store bought chutneys, but not sure that home-made would have elevated it enough for me to try again.
Susan
This was delicious and easy! Such a great combination! I couldn't find green chili chutney, so I used a garlic chili paste. Delicious!
Rashmi
Excellent and made exactly as recipe says. I agree with the comment about no need to add salt (and I love salt); turned out a bit too salty even for me but the rice or naan helped cut through the salt. Definitely keeping this one on repeat!
Trish
What quantity tofu or chickpeas do you substitute for the chicken?
marianne
Any suggestions for nondairy yogurt substitutions?
Thejaswi Udupa
The green chutney that I use for similar dishes is a mix of cilantro (one handful), mint (5-6 sprigs), basil leaves (5-6 sprigs), 4-5 green chillies, a few black peppercorns, two cardamoms -- all sauted for a few seconds in a little coconut oil before being ground to a paste. It's always a hit.
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