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Curries are popular in many countries across the world, and have an equally diverse set of origins. Some were developed in India and Pakistan, some in China and Thailand, and others were devised in the West Indies. Most of the really authentic tastes of these mouthwatering curry dishes have changed as they traveled across the globe. So for instance, a chicken madras is not really a curry that can be found in Madras, and chicken tikka masala didn’t exist anywhere in India, according to curry legend; in fact, it was invented in Scotland by an Indian immigrant who settled and opened a restaurant in Glasgow.

Here are five well-known and easy chicken curry ideas to get you into the mood, and maybe you can find detailed recipes and try them out next time you want to eat something spicy, but don’t feel like a Mexican or Tex-Mex chili.

Chicken Vindaloo – this is a particularly fiery curry which, for many, packs too much chili to be enjoyable. In fact it is often a male domain “let’s see how tough you are” type of meal. Apart from the ludicrous number of chilies in the recipe, the vindaloo is characterized by its delicious spice mixes (called garam masala) along with garlic and vinegar. Some restaurants add potato to the recipe, but this is, interestingly, a result of a translation misunderstanding. The Hindi word “aloo” means potato; however, the vindaloo recipe is actually of Portuguese origin, where “vin” means vinegar, and “alho” means garlic, not potato at all!

Chicken Madras – this is the kind of curry you will never find in Madras! It is a fairly hot, spicy curry, but one which most people can tolerate, especially if they like their lips to tingle with satisfaction after their meal. A hot chicken madras is a chili laced red curry, and it is characterized by its use of fresh coconut and tomatoes.

Chicken Tikka Masala – in the UK, chicken tikka masala has won awards as Britain’s favorite restaurant dish. It was reputedly invented in the UK, although there are many in India who challenge this view. However, this, rather amusingly, has not stopped the constant flow of exports of chicken tikka masala from Britain to India, where it has caught on with a vengeance. The recipe consists of marinating the chicken in herb and spice infused yogurt, and then cooking it in a creamy tomato curry sauce.

Chicken Korma – the creamy chicken korma is traditionally the very mild curry, normally consumed by people who don’t like chili heat in their food. So it is not very spicy, and its main ingredients are yogurt, along with almonds and cashews with tasty herbs and spices.

Thai Green Curry – from Thailand, rather than India or Pakistan, the Thai green curry has an entirely different spice profile. It has coconut milk as the base for the sauce, which tends to be thinner and runnier than the sauces used in Indian curries. The cornerstone spices in a Thai curry are lemongrass and cilantro, but there are lots of other fresh ingredients, such as galangal, lots of chilies, garlic and lime juice, which make this curry equally delicious, but different!

So next time you have a craving for something hot and spicy, you know you can always turn to one of the myriad of easy chicken curry recipes!