Delicious Indian-Spiced Chicken Curry with chickpeas and spinach, in a lightly creamy yogurt sauce. Serve with some Naan bread for a great meal.
We are all fans of Indian spiced food in this household and I always love the dishes that pack lots of good stuff in to one pan. I love the colours! The sauce is not overwhelmingly spicy. If you like a little heat with your Indian dishes, up the cayenne pepper, to taste. This dish uses yogurt for a bit of creaminess, which is added right at the end.
I used chicken legs for this dish. Chicken thighs or breasts would also work well, although cooking time will vary. I like bone-in/skin-on for the extra flavour, but since the chicken is braised, you could easily substitute boneless/skinless without worry of them becoming too dry. Again, cooking time to done may vary.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Chicken Legs – I don’t often cook chicken legs, but I was thought I’d give legs a go in this dish and they were really lovely. If you’re like me and you often pass them over at the store, you may want to give them a try, too :) Alternately, substitute 3bone-in chicken breasts or 6 bone-in chicken thighs and adjust the cooking time as needed to cook the chicken thoroughly.
Chickpeas – start with canned chickpeas and drain and rinse before using.
Greek Yogurt – use plain Greek yogurt or substitute sour cream.
Recipe Tips
Adjust the spices in this dish to your liking. As written, it is pleasantly spiced. If you might like it more assertive, increase all the spices a bit. For more heat, increase the cayenne pepper, to taste.
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Get the Recipe: Indian-Spiced Chicken with Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 bone-in/skin-on chicken legs, or 6 thighs/3 breasts
- Salt and pepper
- 1 Tablespoons butter
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 Tablespoon grated peeled ginger
- 2 teaspoon coriander
- 2 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 15 oz canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 6-8 cups lightly packed baby spinach
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro or flat-leafed parsley, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325° F. (regular bake setting/not fan assisted) with rack in lower 1/3 of oven.
- Pan chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in an oven-safe pan (with a lid, such as a Dutch oven) on stove-top over medium-high heat. Brown chicken on both sides until golden and remove to a plate.
- Add butter and onions to pan (don't remove drippings unless excessive). Cook, stirring regularly, until onions are soft and golden brown, about 10 minutes. (Don't rush browning the onions, as cooking them to golden adds great flavour to the dish). Stir in garlic, ginger and spices. Cook, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Stir in chickpeas and 2 cups of broth. Return chicken to pan and any accumulated juices. Liquid should cover chicken by about 2/3. If not, add a bit more broth to top up. Bring liquid to a simmer, then cover and transfer to the pre-heated oven. Cook until chicken is fork-tender, about 45 minutes, depending on the cut of chicken you used.
- Remove from oven and transfer chicken to a plate. Cover with foil to keep warm. To hot liquid in pot, add spinach. Cover and let stand about 5 minutes, or until spinach is wilted. Stir in yogurt. Taste and season with salt and pepper, to taste. (If sauce is not as thick as you'd like, mix a bit of the sauce with a couple of teaspoons of cornstarch to make a paste. Add a bit at a time to the warm sauce and stir until desired thickness). Return chicken to pot and warm over low heat (do not boil or yogurt may curdle).
- Transfer chicken to a serving platter and pour spinach and chickpea sauce over. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro or parsley.
More Bone-in Chicken Recipes to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
I made this for the first time today. Do you think I could freeze the leftovers (with spinach and chick peas and yogurt already mixed in? We are two 70-something seniors and eat smaller meals and like to save leftovers for another ‘money in the bank’ dinner without cooking. Thanks
Hi Holly, I think it should freeze just fine :) And yes, I love having an extra dinner on hand, too!
Lovely and easy recipe. I also added green beans, and doubled the chicken broth and used fresh coriander in the sauce, totally yummy.
So glad you enjoyed it, Roland :) Thanks
One of my favorite recipes from Seasons and Suppers. Consistently delicious and great for a one-pan weeknight meal!
So glad to hear, Vivi :) It is one of my favourites, for sure. I just love the spices in this one!
Made this for dinner last night and the flavors were wonderful. The color of the sauce was vibrant and I kept thinking no curry? I made it with chicken thighs and drumsticks and served it with brown rice and naan bread to absorb the broth. Great meal for a fall evening.
So glad you enjoyed it, Cathy! Thanks for coming back to let me know ;)
Hi Jennifer. Loved to see this rendition of this Indian dish. Since you love to experiment, i would suggest try adding a paste of fried onions(sliced onion fried in oil..yes that will soak in some oil and make your dish oily..but all worth it) with the yogurt and then add them to the sauce. This will not only give it an amazing colour but also improve the texture of the gravy.
Hi Rohit! This sounds so lovely and I am definitely going to give it a try next time (can’t wait :)
How good does that look? Dinner, sorted!
Good! Enjoy :)
Used skin-on/bone-in chicken thighs. (Since sauteeing isn’t a favourite of mine, legs or breasts will be used next time!) This dish was yummy! Even though the naan was store-bought, it was very good.
I used more broth (’cause I didn’t read correctly!) but that was a good mistake. We thought the dish would be good over rice also. And the leftover sauce has been saved for naan/bread dipping!
My husband is not a chick pea fan but your recipe won him over! I now have a recipe with chick peas that I can make again!
Glad you enjoyed it, Irene. I have to confess, I’m not a huge chick pea fan either, but I do like to have some in my diet, so I look for dishes that have enough else going on that I don’t notice :)
Made this tonight. Two thumbs up by all!
So glad you enjoyed it, Maura! Thanks for coming back to let me know :)
This is exactly what I’m craving for dinner tonight and a side of naan is a must!
Thanks Laura :)
What a standout dish, Jennifer! Your photography always blows me away and the gorgeous colours and flavours of this recipe jump right off the page. I could just take a chunk out of my screen right now!
We love Indian food as well and I’ve started cooking my chicken with bone -in, skin-on more often. Thanks for the inspiration :)
Thanks so much, Robyn. I love bone-in/skin-on a lot. First, it’s less expensive and secondly, it adds so much flavour to dishes (and you can always take the skin off before eating :)
There is no doubt in my mind that this is a fantastic meal. The color alone draws me in. We love a good spicy meal and Indian flavors are at the top of the list. Have a lovely weekend!
Thanks so much, Tricia and have a great weekend, too! :)
I never knew Indian food could look so pretty! I love all of the different spices you’ve got going on here, I’m sure it’s totally delicious.
Thanks so much, Sara :)
You’re in your element, Jennifer — this looks spectacular! We love our Indian food here, so this is going on the menu for sure. I just noticed that you put together a group of your best chicken dinners, I’m heading over to it now, yum!
Thanks Sue :) It’s a really delicious dish and pretty easy, too!
Jennifer, I absolutely adore Indian food and this dish is totally making me drool! Your photos are amazing (as usual)!! Thanks for sharing. Can’t wait to try!
Thanks Mary Ann :) Everyone here loves Indian food as well!
Sounds nice. Thank you
Thanks Liz :)