Dishoom’s chicken ruby curry is everything: spicy, sweet, savory, and utterly addictive. A lot of people think the best Indian food in the world is in London, and it’s probably true. It’s also probably not at Dishoom, which is kind of like a local casual-fine chain. But because the bar is set so high in London, Dishoom manages to be both really good and very accessible. And man, is Dishoom ever good. Steph and I love it there: the fun atmosphere, creative cocktails, and of course the food, which is carefully tuned to be just a little less authentic: not too spicy, not too extreme. We’ve made many of their recipes and they’ve all been hits. Strangely however, we’ve never made what is arguably their signature dish, until now.

This ruby chicken was awesome and so easy to make. It’s like the next step in Indian curry chicken. If you like butter chicken or chicken tikka masala, you’ll love this: still sweet and a total crowdpleaser, but a little more complex and satisfying and adult. We had it with homemade cheddar naan, but it would go great with just about anything: basmati rice, garlic naan, or even more chicken via Dishoom’s chicken biryani (biryani is like a mixed rice).

The chicken all by itself is amazing. We had a few pieces fresh off the grill and it was mind blowingly good. It’s like an even easier chicken tandoori. If you’re feeling lazy, you can totally skip the whole curry part and just marinate and grill the chicken to eat with just about anything. It’s some of the best grilled chicken – from any cuisine – I’ve ever had. If you do go just chicken, you might want to pull back a bit on the spice. Indian chili powder can be pretty over the top spicy, depending on which one you use.

Cooking Notes

The original recipe contains sugar and honey. I omitted both because the cherry tomatoes I used were plenty sweet, but if you like sweetness, you might want to add a tablespoon of sugar back in. I also skipped the dill and kasoori methi (aka fenugreek) powder, and combined the two cardamoms into one, because I didn’t want to buy herbs & spices just for one dish. The deggi mirch chili powder specified in the OG recipe is just a mild variety of indian chili powder; I subbed the standard (spicier) one we have at home. Last but not least, the ginger garnish is really really good, don’t skip it.

This was an awesome and really delicious curry that was mostly hands off and totally foolproof. It looks like a long ingredients list, but it’s mostly duplicates between the chicken and the curry, and it looks like a lot of time, but it’s just an overnight marinade. The actual cooking was more like an hour. I highly recommend doubling or tripling this recipe. I’m definitely going to be adding this one to our dinner list, especially that awesome grilled chicken.

Curry for life!
Mike

Dishoom’s Ruby Chicken Curry Recipe

Serves 2

Prep Time 1 hr

Cook Time 1 hr

Marinating 6 hrs

Total Time 8 hrs

Chicken

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 2” chunks
1/4″ fresh ginger finely diced
5 cloves garlic crushed
1 tsp Indian chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp garam masala
juice of 1/4 lime
1 tbsp neutral oil such as grapeseed
1/4 cup kefir or greek yogurt

Curry

4 cloves garlic
1/2″ fresh ginger plus extra for garnish
1/2 cup neutral oil such as grapeseed
1 bay leaf
4 pods green cardamom
1 stick cinnamon
14 ounces cherry tomatoes blended
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp Indian chili powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup heavy cream aka whipping cream

In a medium bowl, mix the marinade ingredients together, then toss chicken until evenly coated. Wrap and store in the fridge to marinate 6 hours to overnight.
Making the curry takes about 45 minutes. Start by crushing or finely dicing the ginger and 2 cloves of the garlic. A mortar and pestle is ideal. Set aside.
Roughly chop the remaining 2 cloves of garlic. Add the 1/2 cup oil to a large pan and set over medium high heat, then add the garlic. Cook garlic until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes, watching carefully to ensure it doesn’t burn.
Remove the garlic with a skimmer or slotted spoon and set aside. Add the bay leaf, cardamon, and cinnamon. Cook for about 1 minute, or until the cinnamon stick opens.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the reserved ginger-garlic paste from step 2. Cook until paste has browned a little, about 5 minutes, then add the blended tomatoes, being careful of splattering. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is reduced about 2/3 and darkened, roughly 15 minutes.
Add the butter, chili powder, garam masala, cumin, the reserved crispy garlic from step 4, and a pinch of salt. Cook for another 10-15 minutes, or until sauce has reduced by about 1/2, then stir in the cream. Cook for another 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside while you make the chicken.
Preheat your grill on high. Oil the grates well, and then skewer and and cook the chicken until charred and just cooked through, 8-10 minutes. If you don’t have a grill handy, fry the chicken in 1-2 tbsp oil until just cooked through.
Add the chicken to the curry and simmer for another 5 minutes, stirring evenly to coat.
Plate and garnish with ginger matchsticks and cilantro (optional).