Indian Tomato-Cilantro Chicken

Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! Today is my 45th birthday, and I’m celebrating with one of my favorite cuisines. I utterly adore Indian food, and this Indian Tomato-Cilantro Chicken sounds recipe like it was written just for me and my husband. This might not be authentic Indian cuisine, but it uses lots of flavors found in Indian food, and I’m pretty stoked to try it. It promises bold flavors with a silky sauce and it’s made with chicken breasts. Getting the hubs to eat dark meat can be tough, and he’s very averse to bones and skin. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are his jam. So we’re celebrating at home with something we both love, lots of Indian food. And he’s totally doing the dishes because it’s my birthday, and birthday girls don’t do dishes, damn it!

This Indian Tomato-Cilantro Chicken is full of flavor from tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, Serrano chilies, onion, ginger and several spices that will make your mouth water before you even taste this deliciousness!

Recipe Author: Linda at The Wanderlust Kitchen
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The Ingredients

The list of ingredients for this recipe is on the long side, but you should be able to find everything at a good-sized grocery store. I had all the spices, sugar, and vegetable oil on hand, but I did have to buy several things. The chicken, produce, and coconut milk were all on this week’s shopping list.

Indian Tomato-Cilantro Chicken Ingredients
Chicken breasts turmeric, cardamom, cilantro, garlic, ginger, black pepper, red pepper flakes, coconut milk, lemons, onions, vegetable oil, salt, tomatoes, brown sugar, serrano peppers, chili powder, and cumin seeds

The Process

Most of the time I prep the first step or two of a recipe, start cooking, and finish the prep work as I cook. This recipe didn’t have much time between steps, so I had to prep everything before I started cooking.

There were 4 main parts to the prep work, and you can see the prepped vegetables and spices below. I broke the prep work down as follows:

  • Chop and marinate the chicken
  • Make the cilantro paste (you’ll need a food processor for this step)
  • Chop the onions and add the brown sugar and spices
  • Dice the tomatoes, mince the ginger, and add spices
The cilantro paste, chopped vegetables, and spices prepped and ready to go
The cilantro paste, chopped vegetables, and spices prepped and ready to go

I ran into a question about the spices while I was prepping the onions. That step says to add cumin, but I had already used it in the cilantro paste. It also says “cumin” in both steps, but the ingredients list “cumin seeds”. I used a 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds in both, but I have doubts. Using ground cumin in the cilantro paste would have made more sense to me.

I also ran into another question when I began cooking. The ingredients list “vegetable oil”, but the instructions say “grapeseed oil”. I used vegetable oil, but I have the feeling either would have worked just fine.

The total time listed for this recipe is 30 minutes with an optional 1 hour to marinate the chicken. It took just a little longer, but not by much. Here is how my time was spent:

  • 5 minutes to prep the chicken
  • 1 hour to marinate the chicken*
  • 29 minutes to cook
  • 1 hour 34 minutes total

* I finished the prep work while the chicken was marinating and didn’t include it in the total time. It took me 17 minutes.

Finally, I used a deep saute pan for my tomato-cilantro chicken. It had plenty of room for all the ingredients and to stir without spilling.

So how was it?

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This Indian-style tomato-cilantro chicken dish was wonderful! It had the Indian flavors without the heat you expect. Of course, you can always up the chili powder if you like heat ( I do!). I could pick out the brightness of the cilantro and ginger, as well as the sweetness of the brown sugar. There was the barest hint of heat from the chili powder. The chicken was juicy and fork-tender, and the sauce was rich and flavorful. I served this chicken dish with garlic naan and plain basmati rice. I did run into some questions on the seasonings as I prepped the ingredients, and I would do things differently next time. Yes, I think there will be a next time for this recipe. I'll use ground cumin in the chicken marinade and up the chili powder for some heat, but the recipe is solid for the most part.
The Hungry Pinner
The Hungry Pinnerhttps://www.hungrypinner.com
I'm Candice, and I'm The Hungry Pinner. I created this blog to share my love for cooking and my experiences with the MANY recipes I've found on Pinterest over the years. Join me as I blog my way through those recipes to find out if they are worth trying yourself.

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This Indian-style tomato-cilantro chicken dish was wonderful! It had the Indian flavors without the heat you expect. Of course, you can always up the chili powder if you like heat ( I do!). I could pick out the brightness of the cilantro and ginger, as well as the sweetness of the brown sugar. There was the barest hint of heat from the chili powder. The chicken was juicy and fork-tender, and the sauce was rich and flavorful. I served this chicken dish with garlic naan and plain basmati rice. I did run into some questions on the seasonings as I prepped the ingredients, and I would do things differently next time. Yes, I think there will be a next time for this recipe. I'll use ground cumin in the chicken marinade and up the chili powder for some heat, but the recipe is solid for the most part.Indian Tomato-Cilantro Chicken