Ghanaian chicken peanut curry is an authentic African dish that combines curry spices and peanut satay. The result is a rich, chicken satay style curry, perfect for a winter's night.
I love watching Masterchef for my food inspiration! When contestant Chloe Carroll presented this unique traditional African dish to the judges, I knew I would need to make it too. I had never before imagined combining two of my favourite flavours into one dish!
After Masterchef, I gave a shout out to the ThermoKitchen group page which confirmed that other Thermomix owners wanted to have this recipe converted for the Thermomix too.
Chloe's recipe on the Masterchef website is very simple. It didn't have a lot of ingredients and not very many spices. I wondered where the depth of flavour the judges had mentioned would come from. I decided to make the dish exactly as the recipe stated and resist the urge to tweak the recipe straight away.
The result of the first attempt was a lovely meal, but not something I would rush to make again. There was only the barest hint of satay, a slight suggestion of curry spices and not much flavour overall.
I thought the dish was rather bland, so I asked my husband what he thought.
He confirmed my fears, "It's not as good as a satay, and it's a poor curry."
I wasn't too disappointed because I had suspected the dish was missing some zing when I looked at the original ingredients. I checked other variations of Ghanaian Peanut Stew online which confirmed my hunch.
Variation to the Masterchef Original Ghanaian Chicken Peanut Curry
In order to make a truly amazing Thermomix Ghanaian chicken satay curry, I made the following alterations to the Masterchef recipe;
- Substituted the chicken Marylands pieces for boneless thigh fillets.
- Increased the 2 cloves of garlic to 4.
- Added fresh ginger to the recipe as suggested in other versions of this recipe.
- 2 Scotch Bonnet chillies are suggested but these are not available here the closest match is habanero chilli. I wimped out totally and used just one mild long red chilli.
- The recipe suggests 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper but as I was cooking for the family (children) I reduced it to a ½ teaspoon.
- Reduced the stock as the Thermomix doesn't require as much liquid when cooking.
- Increased the peanut butter from ½ cup to 1 cup as some recipes online showed.
- Added some vinegar to give the dish a lift as I would with a Vindaloo.
- Added Garam Masala at the end of the dish for a more traditional curry profile.
Please note: You can make this dish milder by omitting the fresh chillies and reducing the chilli powder
In Conclusion
The alterations to the original recipe make this a sensational winter meal. This is truly a unique dish that is not fussy and very quick and easy to make. I've included some step by step pictures to help you follow along.
Step By Step Guide Ghanaian Chicken Satay Curry
This is a really simple recipe to cook in your Thermal machine. All the instructions are in the recipe card below, but If you need any help preparing the dish please refer to the steps below.
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Thermomix Ghanaian Chicken Satay Curry
Equipment
Ingredients
- 180 g onion quartered
- 20 g garlic
- 10 g fresh ginger
- 1 red chili long mild variety
- 30 g peanut oil
- 1 TBS ground cumin
- 1 TBS ground coriander
- 1 ½ TBS smokey paprika
- ½ teaspoon cayenne powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 400 g Roma tomato halved
- 220 g chicken stock
- 75 g apple cider vinegar
- 650 g boneless chicken thigh fillets Cut into six large chunks each
- 300 g peanut butter I used crunchy
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
Instructions
- Place onions, garlic, ginger and chilli in TM bowl. 5 sec/Speed 9.180 g onion, 20 g garlic, 10 g fresh ginger, 1 red chili
- Scrape down the bowl and a peanut oil. Sauté 5 min/Varoma/Speed 1(MC OUT)30 g peanut oil
- Add cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, cayenne powder, salt, tomatoes, stock and vinegar to the onion mixture. Puree 30 sec/Speed 8.5.1 TBS ground cumin, 1 TBS ground coriander, 1 ½ TBS smokey paprika, ½ teaspoon cayenne powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, 220 g chicken stock, 75 g apple cider vinegar, 400 g Roma tomato
- Add chicken and peanut butter to the curry base. Cook 20 min/Varoma/Speed 1 (REV BLADE).650 g boneless chicken thigh fillets, 300 g peanut butter
- Finish the dish by adding garam masala. Cook 2 min/Varoma/Speed 1 (REV BLADE).1 teaspoon garam masala
- Serve with rice and garnished with crushed nuts and fresh coriander.
Notes
Nutrition
Looking for more delicious curry recipes?
At Thermokitchen we love curries, spices and big flavours. Have you tried some of my other favourite recipes?
I hope you have enjoyed this story. Feel free to leave a comment or start a discussion. If you have made a dish from this site I would love to know what you thought!
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Thank you for stopping by,
Happy Cooking
j xx
Debbie says
This is a cracking recipe- although I changed a few things I’m super chuffed at how it turned out! If you are finding it too runny - add the canned baby Roma tomatoes! I also used a chicken stock pot pod and added 200ml of water and added a bit more as it cooked to thin the sauce slightly as it wasn’t turning over’ in the thermomix. I adjusted the reverse speed between .5 and 2 occasionally to make sure everything cooked evenly and the sauce ‘turned over’ so it heated right through. I cooked it this way for about 25-30 mins reducing the heat from VAROMA down to 100 degrees in the last 12 mins to make sure the chicken was tender and not overcooked once the thermomix was steaming out the top. Turned out perfect 🤩
Debbie says
Just finished making this now - so delicious! I subbed 1 can of baby Roma’s instead of fresh and found my sauce lush and thick just how I curry should be! I omitted the cayenne as I had none and used half a deseeded birds eye as that’s all I had in the fridge. Perfect for my kids! I also hand ground my coriander seeds in my mortar and pestle then added the rest of the spices and ground it together. I used 300gm natural smooth peanut butter and added a tablespoon of fresh roasted unsalted peanuts and blended it before adding the chicken. Served it with brown basmati as it has a good nutty flavour and a great bite. Great flavour!!! Great recipe.
Adele Wilter says
It was delicious but I ended up with half a Thermomix bowl of sauce. Was this correct? And did I really need to add nearly a whole jar of peanut butter? Guess with less liquid I could have saved on the amount of peanut butter.
But thanks for sharing
Lauren says
That was delicious! I used minced ginger and garlic as well as chilli as I didn’t have these fresh. I added mushroom, zuchinni, red capsicum and sweet potato. Chicken breast shredded quite a bit but looking forward to making pies with the leftovers. I also didn’t use 300g of peanut butter - I halved it as I thought 300g was a bit excessive.
Julie Carlyle says
Hi Lauren
I’m so pleased you enjoyed the Peanut Chicken, it’s one of our favourites. I always use chicken thigh fillets as the chicken breast does have a tendency to shred whilst thigh will stay in tact.
The leftovers will be amazing in pies!!!
Happy Cooking
J
CC says
The depth of flavour came from a combination of techniques and time that are imperative for enhancing this simple dish. Cooking off the paste (tomatoes, onions, garlic, spices) until all water has evaporated and the paste is nicely caramelised almost to the point of being burnt is step number one. The second and third steps are the most important - achieving a nice caramelised crust on the chicken (bone in - you want that breakdown of bone marrow. Think Flavour flavour, flavour!) and the third is to use a scotch bonnet or substitute habenero chilli. A standard chilli will by no means enhance this dish. A lot of recipes do not work in the "home kitchen" simply because people lack the skills it takes to build complex flavour profiles in a dish or they substitute ingredients they think will work, but don't. Its neither a curry nor a satay and thus should not be likened to one. Ghanain food has its own identity!
Valentina says
Wonderful thanks! I Wish you can share more african recept here like cow leg soup or how to make fufu...
Super recept!
Ashley says
Thanks for sharing your recipe.
My father lived in Ghana for some years back in late 50’s, and the whole family loved his Ghanaian peanut curry. In addition to the Garlic and hot chilis, he used a blend of cumin seed, fennel seed, nigella, mustard seed and fenugreek. Not sure whether he added fresh ginger but I will try that. An excellent authentic and quite unique curry taste.
Brett Carlyle says
Hi Ashley, I am so pleased you like the recipe!
That is such a nice comment as well, thank you!
Karen says
Oh my word this was good!!! My very first recipe with my second hand TM5. Thanks for the great intro to the joys of thermie cooking 🙂
Julie Carlyle says
Hi Karen
I absolutely agree!! This recipe is a winner!! It's like nothing else I've had before 🙂
Thanks for leaving a message and rating.
Kind regards
Julie
Hitsma says
Cooked this dish tonight, loved it, however would reduce the liquid next time, used the correct chilli, And my, was it good, not for the faint hearted tho!
Julie Carlyle says
Awesome! I'm pleased you enjoyed the dish. So good you could find the correct chilli! Your's must have been hotter than mine 🙂
Michelle says
Gave this a try tonight.
Delicious!
We decided it tasted like it a satay had a baby with a curry!! Two of our favourite things. Will definitely be making this regularly.
Julie Carlyle says
I’m so pleased you enjoyed it! I will
Have to make it again, everyone loved it here too ?
Pauline Lang says
Julie this is right there with my taste buds. Can’t wait. To make it tomorrow!!
Julie Carlyle says
Awesome Pauline!!! Make sure you take a picture and put it on our FB group page! I’d love to see how you go ?
Sylvie says
This looks so delicious Julie! It's funny, I love masterchef and other cooking shows and you always wonder if what the contestants make are as delicious as what the judges say! I guess the only way to know is to try, right!?