Indian Railway style chicken curry

Railway style chicken curry

Railway-style” Chicken Curry, served just the way Indian Railways always did it.

There is a bit of a chicken curry overload on my page at the moment, but that is entirely on brand. When your cookbook is called No Worries, Just Chicken Curries, this is what happens. The book was released in November 2025 and it is all about celebrating chicken in its many glorious forms. I managed to squeeze in seventy-three chicken recipes and still wanted more. Greed, but the respectable, culinary kind.

One recipe that did not make the cut was this Indian Railways Style Chicken Curry. Not because it lacked character, but because the book is already well over three hundred pages and even publishers have their limits.

So here it is again, shared for your weekend curry cravings.

This style of chicken curry is deeply nostalgic. Indian Railways curries were mild, comforting, and traditionally made with bone-in chicken. No frills, no fuss. Just honest food served in aluminium thaalis, usually with chapathis or rice, somewhere between stations, with the gentle rhythm of a train in the background.

Growing up, no holiday felt complete without an overnight train journey. AC sleeper compartments, endless negotiations over the upper berth, and the most important question of all: when is food coming? The non-veg thali was always the one to order. That soft, lightly spiced chicken curry with potatoes is a taste that never leaves you. Later came shorter chair-car journeys, but the thali remained a loyal companion.

This recipe is my ode to that Indian Railways chicken curry. Mild, soothing, and unapologetically old-school.

Spice level: mild to medium

Feeds: 3

Timing: about 1 hour plus

For the marination

500 g bone-in chicken pieces (thighs or a mixed cut works best)

1 teaspoon ginger and garlic paste

2 tablespoons yoghurt

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

Salt

Mix everything well and marinate for at least one hour.

Other ingredients

Whole spices

3 to 4 green cardamoms

1 to 3 cloves

3 to 4 black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

2 dried red chillies (optional)

1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 potato, peeled and cut into large chunks

4 to 5 tablespoons neutral oil

1 teaspoon ginger and garlic paste

2 medium onions, finely chopped

1 tomato, chopped

Coriander leaves to garnish

Powdered spices

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri mirch powder (optional)

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon fennel powder

1 heaped teaspoon garam masala

Tempering

1 green chilli, chopped (optional)

A little chopped ginger

A pinch of Kashmiri mirch powder (optional)

Salt, to taste

Method

Heat the oil in a wide, heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the potato pieces and fry until the outside has changed colour and they have started to soften, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove and keep aside.

In the same pan, add a little more oil if needed. Once hot, add all the whole spices and fry for about a minute until aromatic.

Add the onions and cook patiently until they turn dark golden brown. This can take 15 minutes or more, and it is worth every second.

Add the ginger and garlic paste and fry for a minute.

Lower the heat and add all the powdered spices except the garam masala. Add a tablespoon of water to prevent burning and cook the spices gently for a few minutes.

Add the chopped tomato and some salt. Increase the heat slightly, cover, and cook until the tomato is soft and mushy.

Add the marinated chicken and the fried potatoes. Mix well and cook on high heat for a few minutes until the chicken changes colour and is well coated with the masala.

Lower the heat, add about one cup of water, adjust salt, cover, and cook for around 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and oil begins to appear at the sides.

Stir in the garam masala and switch off the heat.

For the tempering, heat a tablespoon of oil in a small pan. Add the green chilli, ginger, and Kashmiri mirch powder. Toss briefly and pour this tarka over the curry.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot, preferably with chapathis, just like the railways intended.

PS: Whole spices are traditionally left in, but you can scoop them out before serving if you wish, or grind them and add them with the powdered spices. Also, this curry is traditionally made in mustard oil, but you can safely ignore that reference in the video unless you are feeling particularly committed to authenticity that day.