INDIAN SUMMER CHICKEN CURRY…CURRY ON THE GO!!
Peter Ustinov
The North Indian summer is always unbearably hot, & is meant to last a month or so. That is how we are programmed to survive here, because come July, we welcome the rains with open arms & hearts! This year has been different. It’s almost August & zilch; the rains didn’t come. We’ve seen the monsoons fail…
The temperatures are still in the 40’s, & the days are HOT + HUMID = UGH!! An odd shower now & then makes life miserable. This year, we’ve seen cities across the globe also trying to cope with high temperatures. Vancouver is bad, & so is Seattle. Melbourne had a particularly bad summer with record breaking high temperatures.
Days like these call for light fare on the table, which is what I attempted to do today. I had chicken & I wanted to make curry. Hot weather calls for light curry. Light curry, full of summer flavour … mint, coriander, lime! Lots of mint because my mint patch is overflowing… 
A few readers mailed me asking me about my kitchen/workspace. Here are a couple of pictures. The kitchen is my playground & I just love it. It’s a largish kitchen, very minimally done on a very basic level…but I still love it. It is airy & lighted…& on most days I have free run of the place. This is when my recipes are born on the go. I thought of making a chicken curry this morning. Something light, something flavourful…& something that screamed summer. The heat can get to me!! 
Summer = light food = lots of yogurt! Yogurt is always a part of my curries, but summer means lots of yogurt. Fresh coriander & mint also sing summer to me, so I held an immersion blender & blended the yogurt with the two. I blended some tomatoes as well just in case I need them if the curry wasn’t ‘up to it’. As things went, the curry was more than ‘up to it’ & the tomatoes were resigned to the fridge. Will use them another day.
The kids L♥VED it. The curry conversation went something like this…
“Mama, the chicken’s yummy! It’s really very nice & tangy. “
“What recipe?” (I think this generation learns young! I don’t recall ever using the word recipe till I was 16)
“None…made it from my mind as I pottered around… “
“What’s the name? Which book?”
“I said no book. It’s my own.” (Very unbelieving…)
“What’s it’s called? “
(Um mm quick thinking) – “Indian Summer Chicken Curry”…(which is how it got it’s name!)
“It’s YUM!!”(Phew…talk about getting interrogated!) 
Ingredients:
750gms chicken on the bone
5-6 cloves of garlic; minced
Juice of 1-2 limes (about 2-3 tbsps)
1/4 – 1/2 tcp red chili flakes
Salt to taste
1/2 cup chopped onions (about 1-2 small onions)
1 cup of yogurt
Generous handful of mint leaves
Handful of coriander leaves
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Whisk the lime juice , garlic, red chili & salt together. Marinate the chicken in this for at least 30-45 minutes.
- Blend the yogurt with the mint & coriander
- Heat oil in a wok & fry the chopped onions till golden brown. Turn the chicken into it & stir fry on full heat till light golden. This seals the juices in.
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Add the blended yogurt. Stir well, allow to cook on high heat, uncovered, until the sauce thickens. Stir minimally to ensure that the chicken doesn’t debone. Adjust seasoning if required, add 1-2 slit green chilies & simmer covered for another 5-7 minutes for flavours to mingle.
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Serve with flat bread or rice. I served it with wholewheat risen flatbread. A simple recipe I’ve made. Knead 1 1/2 cups ot wholewheat flour with 15gms of fresh yeast (dissolved in water) + 1 tbsp oil + 1 tsp salt. Knead well to a smooth dough. Leave to rise in an oiled bowl for an hour until doubled in volume. (I intend to add some mined garlic next time)
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Note: The curry tends to thicken as it sits. We like it thick. Add a little milk & simmer to thin it out if you like.
♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥
Deeba @ PAB
About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.
49 Comments
♥♥♥Ria♥♥♥
Yummm! I can really get the smell of the mint flavoured curry here!! And I am really glad that you put up the pic of your kitchen 🙂
shaz
That sounds so yummy and pretty simple to throw together. Have to make separate portions for my kids though – they haven't learnt to appreciate chilli yet :). (Ps – Love your quotes)
Nags
summer chicken curry? such a refreshing idea 🙂
Rosa's Yummy Yums
A fabulous meal! That curry and those naans look so delectable!
What cute children…
Cheers,
Rosa
MeetaK
mint and chicken – this is an exquisite combination. i love the lightness! nice one dearest deeba!
Tangled Noodle
What a wonderful dish! You present it so beautifully and the recipe is indeed light yet sounds so flavorful. I'm going to try this immediately!
The photos of your kids are lovely and despite their interrogation of mom, it's great that they're interested in how their food came about. I remember at the age, the 'how' didn't matter, just 'what' and 'when'! 8-D
Anita
My mint is also overflowing, but I was not sure it could go into a curry…. now I'm excited 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
lisaiscooking
Delicious! I love the simplicity, and I think even I could attempt this curry. Your utensils are gorgeous too.
Soma
Sounds really refreshing! I am bookmarking this Deeba, will make this soon. My garden is minting a lot of green too.
5 Star Foodie
The curry sounds excellent – I love the addition of the mint here, very summery!
chris
The curry looks fabulous, as you know I miss good Indian food as there are no Indian restuarants close by. I may have to make this dish next time I get my craving for curry.
The photos of your Children ar great.
Chris.
Jeff
We have been really low in temps this year. Heck my poor garden is getting great tomatoes but no heat to turn them red.
I love this recipe and definitely am going to have to give it a shot just for its simplicity alone.
Beautifully done as always!
Gloria
I love chicken curry and this look awesome (as always LOL) your pictures so beauty and I love your kids!!! xoxoxoxo Gloria
Arch
Mint, yoghurt and chicken is brilliant…great idea for a chicken curry sans the loads of oil and masalas…
Poornima Nair
Mint and chicken go so well together and its wonderful to make a curry without the usual spices. Am definitely gonna try this this weekend. The curry looks yumm.
Kamran Siddiqi
"What's the name? Which book?"<- My all time favorite line. I get it too much in my house…
I love chicken curry and will be sure to make this for the fam. tomorrow for lunch.
Lovely post and photos!
Jean
Your children are darling, the recipe sounds fabulous, your kitchen is perfectly appointed, and, oh my goodness the handcrafted copper is amazing ~ it's a joy to glimpse your summer.
Cucinista
What a wonderful looking curry. I always look for things like this to lift dinner when it's hot out. Beautiful pictures as always.
Cucinista
What a wonderful looking curry. I always look for things like this to lift dinner when it's hot out. Beautiful pictures as always.
Chez US
Beautiful children, lovely kitchen & fantastic dish. I love the copper dishes & utensils … very nice! Your photographs are very inviting! Can't wait to try your curry recipe!
Cakebrain
Gorgeous pictures! I feel like having curry now…yours looks terrific!
Miakoda
I love using mint in m curries too. Love the combination with yoghurt!
WizzyTheStick
You are a talented photographer. I have never had mint in curry before. Sounds like something I have to try. It's been a very dry rainy season here in the Caribbean as well.
Donna-FFW
Your curry sounds wonderful with that fresh mint!! Loved the pictures of your kitchen!
humaira
Hi,I have nominated u for the creativ blogger award…pls do visit my blog and accept it.
diva
deeba your children are beautiful! can i say they have amazing hair too? 🙂
it's rain rain rain in england and this would be the perfect meal to have, cuddled up in the lounge…yummy! x
Jamie
Yum is so right! This is perfect and looks so delicious. What a fabulous blend of flavors – lime, yogurt, coriander, mint and you really don't need much else. I do need to try this one!
pigpigscorner
I can eat curry anytime of the year! This looks soooo good..and with mint, yummy!
PheMom
That looks like such a wonderful meal! YUM!
noble pig
Your presentation is beautiful…and the curry if tastes as delicious as it looks…wow, what a treat.
Gera @ SweetsFoods
I’ve just read an awesome post about curry of oysterfoodandculture and now this Indian chicken curry….looks super gorgeous for this weekend 🙂
All the best,
Gera
Doloncookbook
Hey Deeba first time here & loved your blog … Curry looks fabulous & delicious … will try sometime …
Sophie
MMMMMMMMMMM,…your summer chicken curry looks excellnet & so tastefull!!
MMMMMMMMM,…
A_and_N
I love the utensils! Can't say much about the chicken because I'm veggie, but those utensils! Deeba – tell me where you got them. I will get them next time I hit India 😀
Elysse
This was sooooo good! I made it a few nights ago and am already dreaming up a veggie version of it. My husband and I couldn't stop talking about how good it was while we were eating it. Incredible flavours! Thank you so much for posting this!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
Thanks for the glimpse into your kitchen! And hehe at the conversation with the kids. They sound so cute!
Elra
Love Indian chicken curry, homemade is the best! 2 week ago I made Murgh Makhani for my guests (I didn't blog about it, it's just impossible to take photo while you are having guests) they were speechless. They love it so much.
Helene
That curry looks delish. Love your kitchen. Thanks for posting the pics. 🙂
Arabic Bites
This looks delicious Deeba! My family will love it! I’ll definitely be giving this a try 😉
zainab
radha
Dear Deeba, i already made it for 2 consecutive days, the taste of lemon is really strong and interesting! one time replacing fresh mint with dried,the other time only cilantro. A tast treat and i am bringing it aslunch box at office the day after, complemented with stir fried okra, plain pasta, black rice. thank yoU!
mimi
i wouldn't have thought of adding mint to a curry, but this sounds delicious!!
The Duo Dishes
This sounds really delicious. Love the mint.
Anonymous
Love Love LOVE your pots, cups, utensils, etc. Did you get those in a local store? I'm recently obssed with Indian gadgets, utensils, cups, bowls, mugs, etc. that are made of tin/ copper. To me, it's so much fun eating delicious Indian dishes out of those intricate, hand-made bowls, plates, spoons, etc.
I love curry and I definitely will have to try this recipe sometimes, SOON!
Thanks for posting and for sharing! I love your site!
Shelly
I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for a long time now, and now that I’m growing my own cilantro, I have to know, when you say lime do you mean lemon? it looks like a lemon in one picture, and a lime in another, then another commenter said they used lemon. I’m sure it’ll turn out great either way, but I’d just like to be sure…
Deeba @ PAB
Hi Shelly, Thanks for stopping by. I used lime as we usually get just limes in India. One lime would give about 2 tbsp of juice, so I’m sure you can use an equal amount of lemon juice too. A lot of the West just replaces lime juice with lemon juice. Hope you enjoy this…
Rana
I made this today with lemon juice and it was AMAZING!! The name suits it. It was truly refreshing. yum!
Nita Shajeev
Hi Deeba, I tried this curry yesterday and it turned awesome. Just like how you described – tangy and spicy. I skipped the red chilli and added green chilli’s while grinding the yoghurt mixture and added 2 green chillis to the curry as well. I also added a pinch of garam masala for an extra flavour. Turned out great! Everyone at home liked it. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Deeba @ PAB
Tank you so much for trying the recipe Nita, and for taking the time to write back. Have a great weekend ahead!