A home cook transcribed a chicken curry recipe from a 2014 Great British Bake Off video featuring semifinalist Chetna Makan, after failing to find the recipe online or in her cookbooks. The cook wrote down the recipe from the video "BEST Chicken Curry recipe!" on Makan's YouTube page, then made several adjustments. The resulting dish became a family favorite, and the cook shared the adapted recipe after eight months of not making it again.
The recipe calls for 2 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, 1 cup plain full-fat yogurt, garlic, ginger, and a blend of spices including turmeric, garam masala, coriander, and cayenne. The cook notes the curry is "shockingly rich" for containing only a cup of yogurt, and that cooking the base flavors deeply creates a foundation that makes grocery-store chicken thighs taste like a slow-cooked meal.
The cook initially feared the handwritten notes might not be as good as remembered, but a second attempt confirmed the dish's quality. The recipe serves 4 to 6 and takes about 60 minutes total. Key steps include browning onions with cumin seeds, cooking the spices, adding tomatoes and tomato paste, then simmering the chicken with the yogurt marinade and water for 25 to 30 minutes.
The cook, who has many Indian subcontinent dishes on their site but lacked a go-to chicken curry, now considers this a permanent staple. They plan to make it more frequently, having gone eight months without it once. The recipe is shared with the cook's personal edits, including using Greek yogurt and adjusting spice levels.
Editorial Notes