A delicious Indian chicken stew with potatoes, tomatoes and a blend of Indian spices slow cooked for a complete and comforting meal.
If you’re a fan of dishes like Tikka Masala or Butter chicken, you will love this one! It’s flavourful, hearty, warming and spicy and a great “throw everything in a pot and let it cook all afternoon” kind of dish.
The spicy tomato and cream sauce was delicious and plentiful, great for sopping up with the naan bread. I love the addition of potatoes to this dish, too!
This stew has a great combination of spices that work beautifully together. Don’t be intimidated by the long list. They are pretty common spices, so if your spice rack is fairly well-stocked, you’ll be good. The cayenne pepper provides some nice warming heat in this dish. You may want to use the lesser amount of cayenne or leave out altogether if you’re not a fan of heat or if you’re feeding small kids.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Chicken – For best flavour, opt for the bone-in chicken breasts. The bones give great flavour to the stew! You could use boneless chicken breasts however, if you prefer.
Potatoes – Yukon Gold or other yellow-fleshed potatoes are the best choice, as they will hold their shape during cooking.
Cook’s Notes
Serve this stew with a big dollop of plain yogurt, some naan bread and a generous sprinkling of fresh mint (most traditional), cilantro or parsley. Alternately, this would be lovely spooned over warm basmati rice.
I made this dish on the stove-top in my Dutch oven, but you could very easily do it in your slow-cooker. I used a couple of bone-in/skin on chicken breasts and thighs and took the chicken off the bone before adding the potatoes.
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs would also work. You’d save the step of taking the chicken off the bone, but I do think the bone and skin probably add nice flavour to this one.
I served this stew up in my cast iron fajita pans. It’s just a fun way to enjoy a meal and they’re also great for fajitas, too :)
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Get the Recipe: Indian Chicken Stew with Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 large skin-on/bone-in chicken breasts, (or can use boneless)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 Tablespoons finely grated ginger
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoons cayennne pepper, (depending on how spicy like it or you can omit)
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth, (plus a bit more thinning, if necessary)
- 3/4 cup tomato purée
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, (can use a lighter cream)
- 1/2 pound small Yukon Gold potatoes,sliced 1/4" thick, (or small fingerlings, sliced in half lengthwise)
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper and place skin side down in to the pan. Cook until golden brown without turning, about 8–10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate.
- To the same pot, add onion, garlic, and ginger to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is very soft and golden brown, about 8–10 minutes. Add tomato paste, garam masala, cumin, turmeric, coriander, cayenne and cook, stirring often, until tomato paste is beginning to darken, about 4 minutes.
- Add chicken pieces, chicken broth, tomato purée, and cream to pot. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until chicken is almost falling off the bone and liquid is slightly thickened, about 1 1/2 hours. If using bone-in chicken, remove chicken to a plate and carefully remove chicken from the bone and discard skin and bones. Cut or pull chicken into bite-sized pieces. Return chicken pieces to the pot.
- Add potatoes to the pot and cook, partially covered, until potatoes are fork-tender and sauce is thickened, 30-45 minutes. *Check and stir every so often to ensure the sauce hasn't thickened to much and potatoes aren't sticking to the bottom of the pot. If sauce is too thick, thin with a bit more chicken stock.
- To serve, spoon stew into a shallow bowl and place a large dollop of yogurt on one side. Sprinkle with some fresh chopped mint, cilantro or parsley and serve with naan bread on the side. Alternately, spoon stew over some warm basmati rice.
Notes
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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!
Oh what a delightful meal, my kids and I really enjoyed it and the scent it gives when cooking just got everyone salivating. Thank you
So glad you all enjoyed it! Thanks so much :)
What a wonderful stew! This dish is great for introducing Indian spices to people. A recipe to make time and again.
So glad you enjoyed it, April and I agree, it is a perfect entry point for exploring different spices! Thanks so much :)
Delish!
Happy to hear, Donna :) Thanks!
Delicious!! Great spices, perfect for a rainy day. Followed recipe but put everything in the crockpot after browning the chicken and blooming the spices. We’ll make this again.
So glad you enjoyed it, Robin! Thanks so much :)
Will this recipe freeze well? Or, will it keep if I make it on Wednesday and serve it on Friday?
Hi Holly, I’ve never frozen this stew. Sometimes potatoes suffer a bit from freezing, so that’s the part I would worry a bit about. That said, Wednesday to Friday is a bit long, especially if you are entertaining guests. It just might not be at its best. Of the two options, I’d probably freeze.
Awesome, delicious, great flavor. I love Indian food and have never found a recipe that gave the spicy delicious Indian flavor I wanted until this recipe. I loved this recipe! The spice profile is perfect- spicy but not hot, flavorful, delicious and just perfect. I plan on using the spice mix here in a chicken pot pie next. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. I will be making it again and again……
So glad you enjoyed it, Irene! It’s one of my favourites. Thanks :)
I am so in love with anything and everything Indian style right now. I used the boneless skinless chicken breasts tenders, so cooking didn’t take quite as long. Man alive is this an AMAZING dish! It thickened up beautifully and was so aromatic that my husband said he could smell it as he pulled in the driveway. Thank you for this because it will absolutely be on our rotation from now on.
So glad to hear, Danielle :) Thanks so much!