20-Min Chettinad Chicken Skillet

Spiced, saucy chicken cooked fast in one pan with coconut, peppers, and warm spices. Tastes like the real deal—ready in 20 minutes.

Total time: 20 min
Servings: 2
Calories: 420
Protein: 38g

comfortboldindianchickentenderjuicyMain courseweeknight

Ingredients

7 items — tap to check off

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium red onion, sliced thin
1 large red bell pepper, diced
¾ cup unsweetened coconut milk
3 tbsp chettinad spice paste (or curry paste: 2 tbsp chili powder, 1 tbsp coriander, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp turmeric, minced ginger-garlic)
1 medium tomato, diced (or 1/2 cup canned crushed tomato)
¼ cup fresh curry leaves (or cilantro), roughly chopped

Missing one? Custrd suggests a swap that works.

Open the app

Instructions

Step 1
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high until shimmering, ~90 seconds.
Step 2
Add chicken, season with salt and pepper. Sear without stirring for 3 minutes until edges start to brown.
Step 3
Stir in onion and bell pepper. Cook 2 minutes until just softened and fragrant.
Step 4
Add chettinad spice paste and tomato. Stir to coat, cooking 1 minute until the spices bloom and smell rich.
Step 5
Pour in coconut milk. Simmer uncovered for 6–8 minutes until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through.
Step 6
Finish with curry leaves and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Taste and adjust salt.

Tools you’ll need

12-inch skillet or large sauté pan
wooden spoon or spatula
measuring spoons
measuring cups

Cook smarter

Get matched recipes for what’s in your fridge

Custrd is an iPhone and Android app that finds real recipes from the ingredients you already have. No more grocery-list aspirations. Try it free for 7 days.

Try the free recipe finder

Ingredients

Instructions

Tools you’ll need

Get matched recipes for what’s in your fridge

More recipes like this