An easy, delicious curry that can be on the table in under 30 minutes, this Easy Chicken Rogan Josh is perfect for busy weeknights!
One of the most popular dishes on my blog is my Lamb Rogan Josh – it’s a deliciously tasty recipe, inspired by Rick Stein’s Rogan Josh from his lovely book ‘India’ (though, as you’d expect, my version is vastly simplified!).
My version of Lamb Rogan Josh is a great easy peasy recipe – throw onions, garlic, lamb and spices into a pot, then let the oven do all the work for an hour or two, while the cook relaxes… Then, almost by magic, out pops the most delicious, fragrant curry with meltingly tender pieces of lamb – totally my kind of cooking…buuut, with one significant drawback – what if you don’t have a couple of hours to spare before dinner?
That kind of laid back cooking is perfect for the weekend, or if you happen to have an hour or two to spare on a midweek evening – but what if it’s a totally hectic weeknight and you literally only have 30 minutes to make and serve up dinner, but you still want a tasty curry?
No, PUT THAT PHONE DOWN, you don’t have to order a takeaway – by using chicken instead of lamb, this easy Rogan Josh can be on the table in under half an hour!
Not only is this curry almost as quick as ordering from your local Indian restaurant (possibly quicker – don’t get me started on the takeaway we ordered recently that took over 2 hours to arrive, was stone cold and wasn’t even the right order!), but it is also even tastier (IMHO) and likely to be much healthier too – especially if you serve it with my Pilau Cauliflower Rice.
If cauliflower rice is not your thing, this curry would go equally well with my Easy Peasy Pilau Rice or, if you want to be super quick, just serve this Easy Chicken Rogan Josh with plain basmati rice or naan breads. And don’t forget all your favourite pickles and chutneys…I love a bit of mango chutney and lime pickle – what are your favourite extras to go with curry?
Don’t be alarmed by the number of spices in the recipe – once you’ve bought them, the hard part is over.
Once they’re in your kitchen, it’s really just a matter of tipping them into the pan – having a well-stocked spice cupboard is one of the secrets to my easy peasy cooking style – adding spices to a meal really is the simplest thing, yet creates incredible flavour!
With only a small amount of chilli, this curry is not hot at all (but feel free to add more chilli if you want it to be!), but it is has wonderful depth of flavour from all those lovely spices.
It’s a great chilli level for kids who don’t mind a little heat (mine are 7 and 8 and happily wolf this down) or wusses like me that can’t take anything above medium…but you can reduce the chilli down even further or leave it out if you or your family really don’t like hot food.
Apart from the speed of cooking time, the only difference between this quick and easy Chicken Rogan Josh and my Lamb Rogan Josh, is that with this one, I add a few fresh tomatoes in at the end for extra deliciousness.
They add such a lovely freshness and contrast to this curry, but if you are in a hurry and can’t be bothered with the extra chopping, just leave them out – there is still plenty of tomatoey goodness from the tinned tomatoes!
To go with this curry, I would suggest a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc or a Gewürztraminer from Alsace in France (always a good bet with chicken curry), alternatively a fruity rose from the South of France or Spain would work well here. If you prefer red, a South African Pinotage will also work well.
Of course (as I always say), my husband would recommend a beer to go with a curry. I’ve just asked him and he suggests an nice hoppy IPA should stand up to the spices in this Chicken Rogan Josh.
By the way, if you are wondering about the wine and beer recommendations, which I casually throw in from time to time…I used to work in the wine industry, mainly in buying and a bit in marketing, and I did all my wine qualifications (WSET level 4 if that means something to you!) which involved lots of very tricky exams in wine tasting – yeah, I know, tough gig!
My husband, who has never worked in the drinks industry, has one of the most freakishly naturally good palates I’ve ever known…and since I’m not much of a beer drinker these days, I always default to him on matters of beer!
Easy Chicken Rogan Josh
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 white onion sliced
- 5 cm stick cinnamon or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 6 cardamom pods bashed (optional)
- 4 cloves optional
- 3 garlic cloves grated finely or crushed
- 3 cm piece fresh ginger grated
- ½ to 1 teaspoon chilli flakes more if you like things hot!
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 800 g chicken breast chopped into bitesize pieces
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 4 medium plum tomatoes quartered (optional)
- 2-3 tablespoons of coriander leaves chopped, plus extra for garnish
- Plain or pilau rice to serve or Pilau Cauliflower Rice
Method
- Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a wide, deep saucepan and add the sliced onion, cinnamon stick, bashed cardamom pods and cloves. Cover with a lid and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes until the onions have softened but are not brown.
- Add in the crushed garlic, ginger, chilli flakes, cumin, coriander, turmeric and garam masala. Stir and fry uncovered on a low heat for 2 more minutes – add a splash of water if it starts to get dry.
- Add in the chopped chicken and stir to coat the chicken in the spices. Continue frying for a couple of minutes to allow the chicken to brown slightly.
- Add in the tinned tomatoes and salt. Stir and bring to the boil. Cover with a lid and turn the heat down low. Cook for 10 minutes then remove the lid and cook for a further 10 minutes, until the sauce is thick and the chicken is cooked.
- Just before serving the curry, add the quartered plum tomatoes and coriander leaves to the curry and stir. Serve scattered with more coriander leaves and with some rice and a beer or a glass wine.
Notes
Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Need more curry inspiration? Check out my collection of Easy Peasy Curry Recipes
Love chicken? Check out my collection of Easy Chicken Dinners…
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Linkies
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Corina says
6th July 2017 at 9:12 pmIt looks totally delicious, as your recipes always do! And, I couldn’t agree more about how important having a well stocked spice cupboard is. Thanks so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x
Eb Gargano says
11th July 2017 at 10:59 amAw, thanks Corina 🙂 Haha – I knew you’d agree with me about the spice cupboard. Actually at Christmas my husband and I had a clearout in our kitchen so I could turn one (smallish) cupboard into a dedicated spice cupboard…consequently I can now find what I am looking for at a glance…AND they don’t all fall on my head – always useful!! 😀 Eb x
Jenny Paulin says
7th July 2017 at 11:18 pmI have to admit to never trying a rogan josh curry before – ever! However, a chicken one is much more appealing to me than a lamb one which I thought was always the meat used in a rogan josh!
your dish looks delicious – and of course so easy to make which I love. x
Eb Gargano says
11th July 2017 at 11:21 amThanks Jenny, you are right about the fact that Rogan Josh is typically lamb (and I have a great lamb version on my site too!), but this one is quicker than my lamb one – so perfect for a super speedy midweek meal – and also great for people like yourself who are not so keen on lamb. Let me know what you think if you try it! Eb x
Kate - gluten free alchemist says
7th July 2017 at 11:22 pmAnother great curry Eb. Looks tasty as always.
The wine-tasting must have been tough!!!! But I guess someone has to do it…. I didn’t know they have exams in swilling and spitting though! x
Eb Gargano says
11th July 2017 at 11:25 amAw, thanks Kate 🙂 Yeah, all that wine tasting was seriously hard work…but you know, someone’s gotta do it!! 😀 Yep, there are plenty of exams to take in wine tasting…I think I did about 10 in total…it is a very odd experience to be sitting in an exam hall with 6 glasses of wine in front of you! Although probably even odder is the exam where you have a selection of spirits to taste 😀 Eb x
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
8th July 2017 at 10:33 pmYou always make all your recipes sound so delish and easy peasy- funny that! This dish would go down well in our house with my boys they do love a curry but i hardly ever make them as im not so keen a chilli wimp!. The youngest is back from uni after living for a couple of years in a flat share with an Indian girl so hes picked up a few curry making skills along the way.
It 25+ years since I did level 3 WSET exams (just for fun and recipe pairing) and I have forgotten so much I don’t feel able to do that but i do like your suggestions and often find myself thinking good choice to your recommendations. I also worked for several years at WSET doing lunches, refreshments, reception cover on an adhoc basis as well as bit of exam invigilating.
Eb Gargano says
11th July 2017 at 11:30 amAw, thanks Jacqui – nice to know I’m staying ‘on brand’!!! 😀 How funny that you actually worked for WSET! I wonder if it was at the same time as I took my exams??? The WSET exams are fun aren’t they? I learnt so much…I’ve forgotten some of it, of course, but mainly the stuff I haven’t used much/at all since taking them (like all the stuff we had to learn about Chinese wine!!!!), but I was working in the wine trade at the time so I was totally immersed in it, so most of it has still stuck….plus I still have all my wonderful reference books to refer to when I can’t remember something! Eb x
jacqui says
13th July 2017 at 3:56 pmI stopped working there about 2 years ago and was probably there for about 4 years . It was useful extra work i could fit around freelance work. In that time the the number of staff doubled and went through a lot of changes.
As for the curriculum when I did it about 75% about the old world wines 20% new world and 5% others so i don’t remember learning about chinese wine! It was fun I worked in magazines full time though so wasn’t as immersed in it as you.
Now my son has done level one wines and level one spirits.
Eb Gargano says
13th July 2017 at 10:37 pmOh no then, I did my WSET quite a while ago…I think from memory the WSET 3 was focused, as you say, on ‘normal wine’ but the WSET 4 pretty much covered everything…and for some reason that year everyone was rather overexcited about Chinese wine! I think it was tipped to be the next big thing that year, but it never quite happened!! I have to say I’ve barely thought of or heard about Chinese wine since the course…! Eb x
Monika Dabrowski says
9th July 2017 at 11:17 pmThis recipe sounds so lovely! I don’t use enough cardamom in my cooking though I absolutely love it. All the flavours sound super delicious together:)
Eb Gargano says
11th July 2017 at 11:32 amThanks Monika…Cardamom is a fab spice, isn’t it? I just love the fragrance it brings to a curry or rice dish…I particularly like it alongside cinnamon and cloves…just such a delicious combination! Eb x
Colin Dale says
20th February 2019 at 10:20 pmGreat recipe. I see you add a piece of root ginger. Is this whole, chopped or grated? Can’t wait to try it. Colin
Eb Gargano says
25th February 2019 at 2:39 pmThanks Colin! And sorry for not being clear – the ginger should be grated. I’ve amended the recipe so it’s clear for everyone. I hope you enjoy it if you make it! Eb 🙂
Diane Delaney says
16th April 2019 at 5:54 pmI made this curry a couple of days ago and it’s absolutely delicious, I was apprehensive as in the past most curry recipes I’ve tried have been abysmal. Not this curry, it’s easy to prepare and cook and tastes divine, I also made the Pilau rice recipe to go with it. I highly recommend this recipe, it’s so refreshing to find a recipe that exceeds expectations.
Eb Gargano says
18th April 2019 at 1:00 pmThank you so much for this lovely comment, Diane! I am delighted you enjoyed it so much. Eb 😀