Thanks for this recipe! I'm always looking for good chicken recipes, and anything with sour cream is good!!!!

There's a great YouTube video on making Curry in a Hurry - specifically it is for a Chicken Korma. It features Michelle Koen of Healthy Helpings TV:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA-wRlxNPO8

It is slightly different, but very tasty indeed!

Love Mark Bittman! And, this recipe is about as easy as it gets. Looks really good.

I wonder if you could easily replace the sour cream, part or all, with coconut milk and the cilantro w/ basil, add some steamed green beans to turn it into more of a Thai curry.

Elise I can't wait to try this curry chicken recipe! My husband's family has made a simple curry for years using cream of chicken soup. I've been trying to find a recipe similar in simplicity but with fresh ingredients for years. I think this may be it! Also, your Dad's pot roast recipe (cooked on the stovetop with red wine) is one of our favorites, we make it often and guests always love it!

Sounds yummy!

We make a very similar recipe and then serve with toppings for everyone to choose from. These are usually green onion, shredded coconut, raisins, and mandarin oranges. Yummy!

Another recipe I'm going to try and post the result here! Elise is now probably my most favorite food blog to read. Outstanding! Thanks for yet another recipe.

Matt

I always eye his cookbooks in the store because I love the concept of his recipes. I don't think I'll be able to pass up a quick and easy version of them. Thanks for the heads up that this one will be published soon.

Will I actually try a recipe that isn't from Rachael Ray? Shocking!

This may be a dumb question, but when you added the sour cream, the photo looks like it's runny. Does the heat thin it out or does it really stay as thick as sour cream is in the container?

This would be fabulous with your recent recipe for mango chutney! Curry and rice with a dollop of chutney on the side used to sweeten each mouthful - heaven... :)
That decides it, I am going shopping this week to get the ingredients, especially as mangoes are in season right now. Thanks Elise!

Guess I'm in the monority, but having used many of Bittman's recipes, I'll only do so when I can't find a better one in a pinch. I realize the emphasis here is on "in a hurry," but this "curry" has nothing in common--and I mean nothing--except the chicken with anything that passes for curry in India or anywhere else. Much better to wait for the weekend and make a decent curry. Also, yoghurt is not only more authentic than sour cream, but will save you some calories and won't taste like curry stroganoff.

Making this with coconut milk will not make it into anything like Thai curry, since Thai curry doesn't use most of the spices found in "curry powder," which is usually mostly turmeric with some cumin and floor sweepings. You can make a passable Thai curry using a packaged Thai curry paste and coconut milk, though--it's just as fast.

Am I reading the recipe correctly - the chicken only cooks a total of 4 minutes?

I made this recipe, adding a few of my own ingredients...and I loved the results. I tossed some garlic in with the onion, I also put some cream into the sauce to stretch it a little further. It paired well with Quinoa, I made rice last night so I needed something new. Everyone enjoyed eating this, even our young kids.

The Singapore girl in me likes curry with coconut milk. But anything with "curry powder" flavor in it is always a welcome flavor, too.

I'm sure the sour cream makes it very tasty, but that's not an ingredient found in South Asian kitchens. Cream or coconut milk make more sense in a curry.

I will always be endebted to Mark Bittman for the No KNead Bread :)

And Elise, you are right about the curry. It's like eating takeaway Chinese. At least in Belgium, this has NOTHING to do with the "real" Chinese kitchen, if there even exists a "Chinese" kitchen. But there's no point in despising it for that reason...

My buddy Faisal would be offended by the quick natured solution of this dish, but flattered that Americans are trying to westernize the dish with speed without sacrificing flavor. There is something to be said for chicken thigh meat (the way he's made it for us before) that completely falls off the bone with no effort... but there's also something to be said for a tasty dish that doesn't require that you spend all day making it. This would be served with a special (saffron maybe with a few peas in it) rice and that killer flatbread stuff (I dunno what it's called really, but man it rocks)! I know also that there are subtleties as others have noted such as a garlic bud with the onion... the fresh basil, and maybe subbing yogurt for the sour cream that he would possibly add... all good mods for this recipe. I will give it a try... good stuff!

Merd, I think the "flatbread" youy're referring toiscalled 'Nan'(short 'a'). You're right, I bet it would be great w/that.

Hi Elise and readers,

The last time I posted a comment here it was also about some curry-related controversy -- really, curry seems to be quite the powder keg of a topic, not just on this blog but in general :-) . The use of the word arouses some strong feelings, eh?

What I have to say, as an Indian cook, is this: relax, you curry activists. Elise never claimed this was an "authentic" Indian recipe, and anyway, there's no such thing as authenticity in cooking. Recipes change and are constantly being adapted. An Indian curry is not a Thai curry is not a Caribbean curry is not a Japanese curry is not a British curry, but they're all pretty delicious.

This recipe looks very much like a classic pre-1960 British curry, so all claims that it doesn't resemble anything that passes for curry anywhere in the world are, frankly, wrong. You'll find basically the same thing in cookbooks from the British Raj. It has its own place in culinary history and its own unique flavour, which some may like and others not -- if you don't like it, go find another recipe, but no need to get your knickers all in a bunch about how you would never find this in India. What makes a British curry less "authentic" than a curry you'd eat in India (which would probably not be called a curry)? Aren't they *both* authentic representatives of their respective cultures?

I've made this recipe tons of times, assuming it's the same one from The Minimalist Cooks Dinner (good chance because a lot of Bittman's books recycle his columns). It's fabulous and easy, but I always use quite a bit more curry powder than he calls for. I suppose it's my taste buds! Too jaded from all the powerful curry I've been used to eating...

OK, OK, I get it. My bad for my prickly post.

Lydia, to make a quick Thai curry, try one of the Mae Ploy Thai curry pastes. I get them at my supermarket, but if you can't, try Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Mae-Ploy-Thai-Curry-Paste/dp/B000EI2LLO/ref=pd_sbs_gf_5/104-0096854-7129530. (They all taste fairly similar.) For super-fast, just stir-fry some vegetables and/or meat, stir-fry the paste, and add coconut milk--dinner in 10 minutes. For almost as fast, pre-mix the paste with the coconut milk, some fish sauce (nam pla), hot sauce (sriracha), lime juice, and sugar. Throw in some basil and lemon grass if you have it.

Elise, I made yet another one of your dishes, have a look if you have a chance here, http://suburban-gourmet.com/2007/05/20/chicken-curry/.

Everyone this dish is super simple to make and full of curry flavor. It's awesome! Don't hesitate to make this for the family.

Matt

I was dissappointed with the sour cream as the base for the sauce. It seemed to be very grainy on the palate. Do you have an suggestions for mitigating this texture?

Im new to this blog so forgive me if this has already been covered..

One trick that's useful with curry/Indian dishes is that if you don't like using Raisins, you can kick up the sweetness by carefully browning the onions instead of stopping at its translucent stage.

I made this recipe last night, with a few adaptations... I got additional inspiration from Madhur Jaffrey’s recipes for Chicken with Cream, Chicken Mughlai (both are in her book http://www.amazon.com/Madhur-Jaffrey-Indian-Cooking/dp/0764156497/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-1871653-4960006?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179830677&sr=8-1) and Chicken Korma (http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/quickchickenkorma_70529.shtml). As I am currently in France, I was unable to get all of the individual spices, so I had to simplify Madhur's ingredients. Also, the French do not seem to like ordinary cream or slivered almonds, so this dish was made with crème fraiche and cashews. It took about double the time of Elise's recipe, but it was fabulously delicious!

I made this recipe last night and thought that it was great. Instead of sour cream, I used 2% Greek yoghourt from Trader Joe's (as it was all I had on hand) and was very pleased with the result. I also put the almonds in the oven at 350 for 5 minutes to get them toasty. Lovely, simple week night recipe!

Yay! Another excellent recipe that even a full time father can make right the first time! You R-O-C-K Elise :-) I made this in my wok and cubed the chicken. I don't think I'll use my wok next time, but cutting the chicken into cubes worked out marvelously.

Oh, and to settle this whole issue about what is and isn't curry...

The little bottle I used to sprinkle stuff onto my food said "Curry". Therefore, it was Curry Chicken. I don't need to know anything more than that :-)

This was delicious!! My husband and I are bodybuilders and eat ALOT of chicken so always looking for new recipes. I substituted fat free sour cream and it was super good!!!

I tried this yesterday evening, and found it to be really quick to prepare (as the name suggests), easy, and pretty tasty. We thought it was a little bland so may experiment with added ingredients in the future, but all-in-all really enjoyed this. It's a great week-night meal. Thanks for posting this recipe!

I make something similar, I add hot pepper flakes and use Yogurt instead of sour cream. My husband is British and loves his curry, allthough this is different from the take-aways.

Any tips on substituting tofu for chicken in this recipe?

I've made this twice now--really tasty. The first time I used half coconut milk and half sour cream. I undercooked the chicken (oops!) so it kinda ruined it for me when I noticed. Tonight I made it again and used all sour cream. It was a bit sour so I got in touch with one of my Indian friends and he said he always throws a few heaping spoonfuls of honey in it. PERFECTO!!! :D I highly recommend adding a little honey. I also nearly doubled the curry, hehehe!

Great recipe! Thanks for sharing :D

Thanks for the recipe!

I made this last night and it was easy to make and tasted pretty good. The next time I make this it will be much better though.

A word of caution on using the yoghurt, when I put it in the yoghurt instantly turned into water and curds, really watered down my sauce. I had to put in corn starch to get it to thicken up :(. I did use Non-Fat yoghurt, maybe that was part of the problem... or maybe I need to let everything cool off a bit before adding the yoghurt?

Also 1 1/2 Teaspoons of curry powder? I nearly quadrupled that and still was not satisfied with the taste. I suppose I'm used to curry's that make you sweat all the way through the meal! :)

I found this recipe on your blog and made it last night. Just wonderful. I had Nancy's Honey Yogurt on hand so used 3/4 cup of it plus 1/4 cup cream. being very careful not to boil. Instead of chili pepper flakes I used a bit of cayenne. Forgot the sliced almonds, but it was so delicious we didn't need them. Thanks for this one and Many others.

I made this recipe this week. My family enjoyed it very much. There was not enough for seconds so we were all disappointed! My husband said that I need to TRIPLE the recipe next time. Anyhow, like another reader she said that it turned out a little grainy. I think that I might try creme fraiche or yogart like some of the others next time. Thanks again. Keep these great recipes coming!!

If you want to use yogurt instead of sour cream, use a full-fat one. Yogurts with a higher fat content don't curdle the way low or non-fat ones do, as long as you just simmer lightly.

Another trick which an Indian friend told me of is to stir a bit of flour into the yogurt before adding - the yogurt is apparently less likely to curdle this way.

Elise,

This was great! I live in Japan, and have truly enjoyed all the recipes I've tried. Thanks for having this website available. It truly does feel like a family website.

Made this for the first time tonight...easy, fast, and GOOOOOOD! It's a keeper! Finally...I feel like I know where to find recipes for real food (not something out of a box/can) that is convenient to make and tastes great! Thank you!