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This is the archived version of the Milk Street website and is no longer up to date.

Please visit 177milkstreet.com to see the current website with all of the latest recipes!

Hyderabadi Chicken Curry

4 to 6 Servings

1 hour

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Salan-style curries, which originate in the south-central Indian city Hyderabad, combine peanuts, coconut and sesame seeds to create a thick, luxurious sauce. There are countless iterations, including murgh ka salan, which uses chicken. We learned an excellent version of it from chef Zuber Momin at his restaurant Hyderabadi Spice in London. The dish is deeply complex, thanks to a base of browned onion, garlic, ginger and oil-bloomed spices. The nuts, seeds and spices make for a lengthy ingredient list, but the knifework is minimal, the cooking is easy, and the finished dish is exceptionally delicious. Kashmiri chili powder is vibrantly colored with moderate heat; we found a mixture of sweet paprika and cayenne to be a good substitute. Curry leaves have a unique inimitable savoriness. While the dish is fantastic made with them, it does not suffer without, so don’t fret about leaving them out. Salan curries are usually eaten alongside biryani, a spiced meat and rice dish, but steamed basmati rice, naan or roti are all wonderful accompaniments.

4 to 6

Servings

Tip

Don’t let the ground spices cook for too long or they may burn and make the sauce bitter. They need just a quick toast before being blended with water.

1 hour

Ingredients

  • 1½

    tablespoons tamarind pulp

  • ½

    cup boiling water

Directions

Reviews
Simona G.
August 25, 2026
Delicious - go-to for a chicken curry
I made angel biscuits. . so I decided to make a chicken curry to go with that for dinner!! Straight forward and quick to bring it all together if you have all ingredients on hand (used peanut butter, was out of peanuts). Surprisingly I had curry leaves in the freezer! I will say that it you use chicken thighs like I did, you will need to simmer longer and the color will go from bright yellow to more brownish. Next time will sautee chicken thigh meat separately and add it for a little simmer at the end.
Denise F.
March 28, 2025
Delicious
This is an exceptional dish and even better the next day! I did add 1/2 cup of heavy cream because I felt the sauce was too strong for my taste. I followed the recipe except for adding the cream.
stephanie e.
December 16, 2024
Rich and savory delicious curry
We enjoyed this chicken curry tonight and look forward to the leftovers tomorrow. We love Indian food but often the flavors are muddy in restaurants. This dish had layers of real flavor yet was easy to prepare. I used tamarind paste because thats what I have and I thought it worked well. I would try this with some added veggies like diced butternut squash, spinach and chickpeas as well. The sauce is amazing! Will definitely be making again!
Kyle O.
November 26, 2024
Great curry flavor!
Substituted butternut squash and carrots for the chicken to make vegetarian for my house guests. I cubed 1/4 cup carrot and squash, and blended 1/4 squash which worked really well with the rich creaminess of the sauce, adding a depth of sweetness. I can see how the depth of the curry would work well with chicken. I look forward to making this true to the recipe next chance I have fellow meat eaters over.
Susannah Z.
October 25, 2024
Delicious
Strangely, this is super delicious and I used paste instead of the pulp because I could not find the tamarind pulp. Apparently it makes a very big difference because mine is brown in color — but still tasty somehow. Next time I’ll search out the pulp and update. I’m excited to cook again.

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