Coriander Chicken Curry is one of the first recipes I created on this blog - inspired by a tasty dish at an Indian restaurant in Minneapolis.
Originally published July 18, 2009. Updated on 12/13/2023
Here, let me put it here, for posterity:
It's 2024, I'm making a bunch of updates to the blog, and it's time to tackle this one!
While the recipe is basically the same now (I've made one small change, over the years!), it was desperately in need of being re-photographed.
It was taken way back when I first developed the original recipe - sometime before mid-2008, based on the stove pictured - and just really doesn't do it justice.
The photo doesn't look appetizing at all, even though - as someone who's made this many times - I KNOW better!
So the last time we made it, we photographed it again.
Beyond the photos, there’s also the matter of the name.. More on that in a bit.
Cilantro Chicken Recipe
Back when this recipe was developed, there was a tiny Indian restaurant in downtown Minneapolis, called "Bombay Bistro".
I’ve always been a big fan of Indian food, and they made a ridiculously good, highly addictive dish called "chicken cilantro”.
It was a type of green chicken curry - in a tangy yogurt based sauce - and was basically the only thing we ever ordered, when there.
It’s what we ordered our first time there, and we couldn’t bring ourselves to order anything BUT that dish, after! The taste buds want what they want, after all.
However, it was downtown, and - as much as we loved the Cilantro Chicken - we did not love going downtown.
So, after a whole lot of googling their menu description - and experimentation - I came up with this approximation. Not *quite* exact, but still ridiculously good.
The initial blog post encouraged readers: "If you're even in MN, you've gotta try this restaurant out!", but sadly it seems to have gone out of business several years ago :(.
We'll continue to enjoy this Cilantro Chicken Recipe in its honour.
Cilantro Chicken
For the past 15 years or so, I’ve known this recipe as “Cilantro Chicken”. It was my favourite chicken dish at that restaurant, but I haven’t seen “Cilantro Chicken” on any other menu, anywhere.
I’d looked for it online, but usually that only turned up chicken recipes like ...cilantro lime chicken, NOT anything resembling the curry we loved.
So, all this time.. I’ve been assuming I knocked off a dish unique to that particular restaurant.
BOOM, that’s what it was!
So. Mystery solved, for the most part!
It’s different enough from the recipes online that it’s probably not at all authentic, but it was a really good approximation of that specific version of it.
Anyway, whatever we’ve called it, it’s been one of our favourite chicken recipes for well over a decade now.
I like making it on the weekend, then serving leftovers as an easy weeknight meal option for the next few days.
Ingredients
Like most of my curry recipes, this one has a bit of a laundry list of ingredients.
They’re all relatively simple ingredients though - anything you don’t already have on hand should be easy to find in any larger grocery store.
A few notes for you:
Chicken
Generally speaking, I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts when making this, as boneless chicken breasts are lower in fat than dark meat chicken.
That said, if you prefer dark meat, feel free to chop up some boneless chicken thighs - I’m not a fan of bone-in chicken, when it comes to curries.
Whether you’re using white meat, dark meat, or a mix of both - just try to get the chicken pieces cut to a relatively even thickness.
Lemon Juice
I usually make this with lemon juice - the acidity of the lemon helps tenderize the chicken while marinating, and makes for juicier chicken in the final coriander chicken curry dish.
If you prefer to use fresh lime juice, that would work fine, too!
Greek Yogurt
The Greek yogurt - plain, unsweetened yogurt! - is the only thing keeping this coriander chicken from being a dairy free dish.
If you’d like it to be a dairy free curry, just substitute coconut cream for the Greek Yogurt.
The slightly different taste will be covered up by all the other flavours in the curry.
Green Chilies
When I first developed this recipe, Fresno chilis were the easiest to come by, so that’s what I used.
Since there, there were times where jalapenos were the only chilies we could find, so we used them.
There are all kinds of different chilis out there, so use what you have access to. They will taste a little different, but it’s all good.
Spice Mix
Again, I’m not sure how authentic this is. I see that other recipes involve things like whole spices - coriander seeds, usually - chili powder, cayenne pepper, bay leaf, and/or garam masala.
I use:
Ground Cumin
Turmeric Powder
Ground Coriander
Red Pepper Flakes
Fennel Seeds
Ground Black Pepper
To be honest, I don’t really want to change it - it was close enough to the source material, that making it always hits that memory just right.
I don’t want to lose that, even if it meant for a more authentic recipe.
Anyway, I like to measure out all the spices in a small bowl, before getting started. An extra step, sure - but it FEELS like it saves a little bit of time.
When I get going with the cooking, I hate stopping to measure a bunch of small items, you know?
Everything Else
Rounding out this recipe, you will need:
Fresh Coriander Leaves (Cilantro)
Fresh Tomatoes
Fresh Ginger
Garlic Cloves
Olive Oil
Salt
... I just really don’t have anything to add, as far as these last few ingredients go. Pretty straightforward!
Anyway, for all of the ingredient amounts - and instructions - see the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
More Indian Food Recipes....
Love Indian food? Be sure to check out these other fabulous Indian - and Indian inspired - recipes! (Those marked GF are inherently gluten-free)
Aloo Pakora [GF]
Butter Chicken Recipe [GF]
Chicken Pakora [GF]
Chicken Shahi Korma Recipe [GF]
Cilantro-Mint Chutney Recipe [GF]
Corn Pakora [GF]
Cucumber Raita [GF]
Easy Campfire Chicken Curry
Gobi Pakora [GF]
Mango Lassi Popsicles Recipe [GF]
Mixed Vegetable Pakora [GF]
Mushroom Pakora [GF]
Onion Pakoda [GF]
Palak Pakoda [GF]
Paneer Burgers Recipe
Paneer Pakora [GF]
Samosa Recipe
Tandoori Spiced Chicken Burger with Mango Recipe [GF]
Specialty Diet Versions
Looking for gluten-free and/or low carb versions of traditional Indian recipes? Here are a few from my other blogs:
Gluten-Free Samosas
Keto Chicken Biryani
Low Carb Butter Chicken
Keto Chicken Korma
Low Carb Shrimp Curry
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Coriander Chicken Curry [Cilantro Chicken]
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 8 Garlic Cloves peeled and chopped
- 4 Inch Chunk of ginger peeled and chopped
- 4 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 4 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs and/or Breasts chopped into large chunks
Cilantro “Pesto”:
- 2 Large Tomatoes
- 2 Fresh Fresno Chilis seeded and chopped
- 6 cups Cilantro packed
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- 2 teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
- 1 teaspoon Crushed Chilies
- 2 teaspoon Fennel Seeds
Assembly:
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt*
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
Instructions
- Put all marinade ingredients into food processor, and process till it’s a thick, smooth paste. If it’s too thick to process smoothly, you can add a little water to get it going.
- Place chicken pieces in a large bowl or freezer bag, pour marinade over, and mix to coat.Cover - or seal your freezer bag - and marinate in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.
- I don’t bother to clean out the food processor (more flavor!), before adding tomatoes and fresno chilis. Process till well chopped, then add cilantro a bit at a time to make a thick pesto. Once all cilantro is added and chopped well, mix in remaining spices.
- Cover and refrigerate till needed.
- Once chicken is properly marinated, measure remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pan or large dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Add the marinated chicken – remaining marinade and all – and cook until golden brown on all sides.
- Turn stove down to medium heat.
- Add cilantro mixture and cook – stirring frequently – for another 10 minutes or so. Reduce heat to low, cover pan, and cook another 20 minutes or so.
- Add Greek yogurt, stirring till it’s all incorporated, and cook - uncovered - another 15-20 mins. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve on a bed of rice, and ideally with a good amount of naan! (Naan, of course, would render it “no longer gluten free”)
Notes
Nutrition
Older Photos
This post was overhauled in late 2003, here are the older photos from earlier versions of the post:
ana
this was delish! definitely a keeper. thank you!