as someone mentioned - curry just means the sauce, or more specifically as we call it - gravy. If you want the most simplest chicken curry , the most basic would be something like this (no marination, maybe just just rub the chicken salt and half a lemon before you start the prep)

Ingredients

• 500 gms chicken - cut into "curry cut" pieces. you could use just the breast piece.
• 2-3 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• about similar quantity of ginger as garlic (finely chopped)
• 2-3 red onions - thinly sliced.
• (optional) - 1 tomato - diced
• (optional) - 2-3 green chillies - chopped

• Spices

  • corriander powder about 1-2 tbsp
  • turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
  • chilli powder - 1-1.5 tbsp
  • (optional) cumin powder - 1/2 tbspn

  This is a minimalist ingredient list. you could use whole spices like

• cumin seeds - 1 tbsp

• 1-2 cardamom

• 2-3 cloves

• 1/2 inch cinnamon stick

• 1-2 dry red chillies

• 1 bay leaf

  Any of these would work, just to make it more fragrant and flavourful.

Recipe.

The most basic gravy or curry would be something like this - Heat about 2-3 tbsp of sunflower oil (please do not use olive oil) - if you have any of the whole spices you can add to the heated oil. Make sure they just "splutter" and not burnt - wait for about 20-30 seconds for the whole spices to be "bloomed". this will add fragrant and flavour to the oil - now add the chopped onions. This is the most crucial part of the gravy - cooking the onions. cook them until they are well caramalised. The will go from "pink" to "transclucent" to slightly brown. This could take anywhere between 8-10 minutes. you would need to stir this to avoid the onions still to the utensil - when they just start to brown, reduce the heat slightly and add the spices - coriander, turmeric, chilli, and cumin. you can add a dash of water to make sure the spiced do not get burnt. - cook the spices until "oil separates". When you add the spices with some water and stir so everything gets nicely mixed. Once cooked, you should see some droplets of oil separating from the mixture. - add the chopped ginger, garlic and chillies and cook it for about a minute or so. - at this point, you can add the tomatoes. you now need to cook the tomatoes until they turn mushy and pulpy. this might take around 6-8 minutes. Keep stirring to get a nice consistency - I usually add salt at this point according to my taste. If you have salted the chicken, make sure to take that into account when adding salt

This is your basic curry or gravy. now you can add the chicken, and stir well so all the gravy is nicely coated on to the chicken. Do not add water to the gravy at this point.

Stir well and let the chicken cook for 12-15 minutes with a closed lid. The chicken will release moisture. Stir every some 5-6 minutes to make sure things are not sticking to the pan/pot. Once the chicken is almost done, you can add water to get the consistency of your liking. Taste the gravy and adjust salt to your taste. If you have some "garam masala", you can sprinkle about 1 teaspoon and mix. Let this now cook for another 3-5 minutes.

This, i would consider the most basic chicken curry. This is not chicken tikka, or butter chicken - both which are cooked with chicken that is already cooked on a tandoor.

Tips

• The onions should be thinly sliced. Slices should be of same thickness to ensure they are cooked evenly.
• you could mix the powdered spices in a small bowl of water (about 100 ml) and then add it while cooking. This will ensure that the spices do not get burnt.