Chicken · Air fryer

Simple Air Fryer Chicken Balti Curry Recipe

Curry in an air fryer, sounds mad, but the Old Food Guy's giving it a go anyway. He's grabbed a jar of balti seasoning, diced chicken breast, and a handful of onions, and he's convinced it's going to work. Let's see what happens.

R By Richard · Adapted from Old Food Guy · Published 10 June 2026
👁 25.9k source views ❤️ 647 source likes
⏱Prep 35 min
🌡Temp 180°C
⏲Air fry 15 min
🍽Serves 4
Simple Air Fryer Curry | Delicious

Source video by Old Food Guy on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

This is a first-attempt air fryer curry from the Old Food Guy, using diced chicken breast marinated with a spice rub and garlic, then cooked in the air fryer alongside seasoned onions before being finished in a jar of balti sauce. The whole curry comes together in roughly 20 minutes and feeds four with a little left over. It is served with a quick egg fried rice (cooked separately in a wok) and poppadoms. A simple, cheap weeknight curry that the cook reckons tastes better than the same jar sauce done in a pan.

Ingredients

Chicken & marinade
  • 650 gchicken breast, diced into bite-sized pieces, diced
  • salt
  • 1 sachetcurry spice mix (sachet)
  • 1 tspgarlic puree
Curry
  • 3 smallonions, sliced
  • vegetable oil
  • 1 jarAldi balti curry sauce (add late)
  • water (add late)
Egg fried rice
  • 2 pouchescooked basmati rice, microwave/packet rice
  • 2 wholeeggs, whisked
  • vegetable oil
  • oyster sauce (add late)
To serve
  • poppadoms

Method

  1. Tip the diced chicken into a bowl, season with salt, sprinkle over the curry spice mix and add the teaspoon of garlic puree. Mix thoroughly to coat every piece.

    ~3 min

  2. Cover the bowl and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (longer if you have time) to marinate.

    ~30 min

  3. Slice the onions and put them in a bowl with a small drop of oil. Scrape the seasoning from the top of the balti jar over the onions and mix until coated, adding a touch more oil if dry.

    ~3 min

  4. Preheat the air fryer. Spread the seasoned onions across the base of the air fryer, then place the marinated chicken on the rack above (or use a cake tin/insert if you have a basket-style air fryer).

    ~2 min

  5. Cook for around 10 minutes, stirring the onions after 3 to 4 minutes to stop them sticking. Check the chicken is cooked through (cut a piece to confirm).

    ~10 min

  6. Pour the jar of balti sauce into the air fryer with a splash of water to loosen, return the chicken to the sauce and stir everything together. Cook for a further 5 minutes until hot and bubbling. Add a second jar if you prefer more sauce.

    ~5 min

  7. While the curry finishes, heat a wok with a drop of oil and quickly scramble the whisked eggs. Tip them out, wipe the wok, add a little more oil and stir-fry the cooked basmati rice. Return the egg, add a small splash of oyster sauce and toss until heated through.

    ~5 min

  8. Serve the curry over the egg fried rice with poppadoms on the side.

    ~1 min

Frequently asked

Do I need to preheat my air fryer?
Yes, a 2 to 3 minute preheat helps the chicken start cooking straight away and keeps it juicier. If your model does not have a preheat function, just add 1 to 2 minutes to the chicken cook time.
Can I do this in a basket-style air fryer without a rack?
Yes. Cook the chicken first in the basket for around 8 to 10 minutes, shaking halfway. Remove the chicken, soften the onions for a few minutes, then add a heatproof dish or cake tin with the chicken, onions and jar of sauce and cook for a final 5 minutes.
Why was the chicken slightly dry?
Diced chicken breast cooks very quickly in an air fryer. The cook in the video reckoned 10 minutes was just a touch too long, so try 8 to 9 minutes next time, or swap to chicken thigh which stays juicier.
Can I make this without the jar sauce?
Yes. Cook the chicken and onions the same way, then stir through a homemade balti base (onion, garlic, ginger, tomato, balti spice mix) instead of the jar. Finish for 5 minutes in the air fryer as in the recipe.
How many does this feed?
Using 650g of chicken and one jar of balti sauce it comfortably fed four with a little left over. Stretching to a second jar would feed five.
Extraction notes (transparency): Air fryer temperature was never stated in the transcript; 180°C assumed as a sensible default for diced chicken. Chicken cook time of 10 minutes is from the transcript, plus around 5 minutes once the sauce is added. Quantities for oil, salt, oyster sauce and water are not specified. The spice rub is described only as 'one of these' from the cupboard (unnamed packet) so listed generically as a curry spice mix. Rice quantity not stated; estimated from a standard microwave pouch. Cook notes the chicken was slightly overdone and suggests 1-2 minutes less next time. | Second-pass critique flagged 3 fabricated and 1 quantified issues. See critique.issues for detail.