This creamy chicken curry with mango is a deliciously mild and slightly sweet curry packed with flavour. It combines chicken breasts poached in a creamy coconut sauce with naturally sweet, fresh, juicy mangos. The medley of fruit, coconut and spices creates a delightful depth of flavour in this homemade curry sauce which is then finished off with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and a hint of cilantro.
Chicken and mango in the same dish might sound like an unusual food combination, but the gentle taste of chicken pairs really well with lots of different ingredients, including exotic fruit. And considering that curry dishes in general do not necessarily need to be hot and burning, this recipe turns out to be a creamy, rich and scrumptious dish, filled with bold, aromatic and exotic flavours. Sweet and fresh, yet mild and delicious.
Which ingredients to use
- Mango: This curry is all about mango; ripe, juicy and sweet mangos. Try to look for a ripe and slightly soft fresh mango, they have the best sweet aroma for this dish.
- Chicken: Use either boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs to make this dish. I prefer to use chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces and have them poached in the curry sauce. But it is a personal choice, use either or.
- Coconut milk: For this dish, I don’t have a preference for a type of coconut milk. Use any coconut milk you like or have at home. When using coconut cream, the sauce will be thicker, for which you can add a bit of water to make it more of a slightly runny sauce.
- Red bell pepper: I have added some red bell pepper, because the sweet flavour goes really well with the mango and the chicken. It also adds some extra colour and of course, it is an additional healthy vegetable. You can use the yellow or orange pepper but I would not use the green bell pepper since it is more bitter and tangy in flavour.
- Onion and Garlic: Adding onion and garlic is setting the base of the curry.
- Ginger: Add fresh ginger to get a warmer, spicy yet pungent flavour from this curry dish. Try to use fresh ginger and not powdered ginger as the taste of the curry will be slightly different.
- Lime: Use the juice and the zest of a fresh lime to lift up the flavours of this dish and give some extra freshness.
- Cilantro: Not everyone is a fan of the taste of fresh cilantro. For the cilantro lovers, some chopped fresh cilantro lifts up the freshness of this curry. As an alternative, use fresh parsley to give this dish a more aromatic and peppery taste. Add the fresh herbs just before serving in order to fully preserve the taste of them.
- Spices: I have used a mix of mild curry powder, turmeric and cumin. If you want to spice this dish up, feel free to use a spicy curry powder or add some cayenne pepper, or a fresh chilli.
How to make chicken curry with mango
Note: All the exact quantities of the ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Making a curry might be overwhelming for some people who would rather grab a ready made curry sauce from the supermarket. Don’t worry, this mango coconut sauce is completely homemade, with just a few pantry friendly ingredients.
Prepare the ingredients for the sauce
Prepare all the ingredients in advance so they are ready to use for cooking. Remove the seeds and finely dice the bell pepper, dice the onion and mince the garlic and ginger. Remove the peel and the pip of the mango and finely slice.
Prepare the mango coconut sauce
To make the sauce, heat the cooking oil in a skillet or saucepan and sauté the onions, red bell pepper, garlic and ginger for a few minutes. Stir in the curry powder, turmeric and cumin. When all is well mixed together, add the diced mango and coconut milk. Bring to a simmer and leave to cook for a few minutes while stirring frequently. Season with salt to taste.
Transfer the ingredients to a blender and blend into a smooth sauce. Set aside for later
Prepare the ingredients for the curry
Remove the seeds and finely slice the bell pepper. Peel and chop the mango into bit-sized cubes. Cut the chicken breast into bite-size cubes.
Make the chicken mango curry
Heat some oil in a skillet and sauté the sliced bell pepper for a few minutes. Pour the mango coconut sauce in to the pan, bring to a gentle simmer and let the sauce thicken a bit. Add the chicken cubes and leave to cook uncovered for 10 minutes or until tender. Add the mango cubes, lime zest, lime juice, mix well. Season with salt to taste. Serve with chopped fresh cilantro and fresh lime wedges.
Useful tips
This dish can be served all year round. It is both a comfort curry dish in winter and a refreshing meal in summer. Since mangos can be difficult to find all year round you can use frozen mangos instead. The taste will be slightly less sweet, but it will still be a delicious, creamy and exotic chicken curry dish.
While this mango curry recipe with chicken is a rather mild and sweet curry, you can decide to add some heat. You can add a teaspoon of cayenne pepper, some chilli flakes or a fresh chilli when making the mango coconut sauce.
Yes, in fact, the taste will improve if you make it ahead of time. A curry will almost always taste better when you let it rest after cooking, from 30 minutes up to 24 hours. When you make it longer than 30 minutes ahead of time, keep it stored in the fridge in an airtight container with a lid.
Serving suggestions
This chicken curry with mango can be served in numerous ways with a variety of side dishes. Here are some serving suggestions:
- Rice: This curry is usually served with plain white or basmati rice, but you can also try this dish with fragrant yellow rice, a nice South African style sweet rice that pairs really well with this chicken mango curry. Even then, you can also serve this with brown or wild rice if you prefer such over white or yellow rice. If you’d rather go for a low carb option, you can consider cauliflower rice or any other types of grain like quinoa
- Bread: Indian naan works really well to mop up the delicious mango sauce. Or try roti or any other types of flat bread. I also like to eat this with some crunchy french loaf or a tasty farmers bread.
- Side dishes or salad: This mango curry with chicken can perfectly be eaten with just some rice or bread, but to add more vegetables, you can serve it with homemade mango salsa, tomato and onion salad or Italian green beans.
- Herbs: Before serving, finish off the dish with some fresh cilantro, parsley, or thyme leaves.
More chicken recipes to try
- Chicken Normandy with apple and cider
- Grilled chicken wraps with mango
- Chicken saltimbocca with sage and prosciutto
- Chicken with flat beans and bell pepper
- Grilled lemon and herb chicken skewers
Mango chicken curry
Ingredients
For the mango sauce:
- 1 mango peeled, seeded and diced
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and diced
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
- 13 ounces (1 can or 400 ml) coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon seasalt
For the mango chicken curry:
- 1¼ pounds (or 600 grams) chicken breast bonesless, skinless and cut in bite-size pieces
- ½ red bell pepper seeded and sliced
- ½ mango peeled, seeded and cubed
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro roughly chopped for garnish
Instructions
For the mango sauce:
- In a large skillet, heat up the cooking oil on medium heat. Add the onion, red bell pepper, garlic and ginger and sauté for 5 minutes, while stirring occasionally, until they start to soften.
- Stir in the curry powder, turmeric, cumin and salt and fry for 1 minute.
- Add the mango cubes and coconut milk. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes on low heat.
- Transfer all the ingredients in to a blender and blend them into a smooth sauce. Set aside.
For the mango chicken curry:
- In a large skillet, heat some cooking oil on medium heat and sauté the sliced red bell pepper for 5 minutes until they start to soften.
- Add the mango sauce to the peppers in the pan, bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 5 minutes uncovered.
- Add the chicken cubes to the sauce and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes on low heat until the sauce is slightly thickened. When the chicken is cooked through, stir in the lime zest, lime juice and diced mango.
- Serve with roughly chopped fresh cilantro and fresh lime wedges.
Notes
- Extra flavour: After cooking, leave the curry to rest for at least 10 minutes to allow the flavour to fully develop.
- Extra spice: Add half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper, a hot curry powder or a fresh chilli to the mango sauce to increase the heat of this dish.
- Mango: Mango is used for both the sauce as well as for the garnish. In this recipe I have used one mango for the sauce and half a mango for the garnish. If you only have 1 mango at home, use one quarter for the garnish and the rest for the sauce.
- Red bell pepper: Same as for the mango, one bell pepper is used to make the sauce and half a bell pepper is used as garnish for the curry. If you only have one pepper at home, use one half for the sauce and the other half for the curry.
Did you make this recipe? I’d love to hear how it turned out! Leave a comment with rating below and share a picture with the hashtag #thetastychilli and tag me on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.
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