Make this easy peasy Kashmiri Chicken with Kashmiri chilies and just a few Indian spices and no chopping required! This chicken turns out finger-licking good and has a unique taste!
This Kashmiri Chicken recipe has been very popular in Bohra cuisine like this Red Ketchup Chicken. Being a recipe that has been tried and tested over decades, it has many versions. The main method remains the same with few changes in ingredients.
So do not miss the Variation section. (Use the jump button below to reach it directly.) This chicken is served with little gravy. You dip chicken in gravy and devour it.
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Why try this recipe?
Vibrant Colour: A vibrant red-colored chicken with gravy that can be eaten with rice or roti(bread). Kashmiri mirch, the key ingredient gives it a distinct aroma and color.
Unique Taste: Raisins give it a mildly sweet tone. So the taste is sweet and spicy, but it is not like the sweetness of ketchup. But you can skip raisin and it still tastes amazing.
One-Pot Easy Recipe: It is an effortless 40 minutes Kashmiri chicken recipe with no chopping. I have tried and shared this recipe many times.
Want some easy Pakistani chicken recipes? Try these! Green Chicken Curry, Chicken Korma, Chicken Karahi, White Karahi, and White korma.
Ingredients
The ingredients of Kashmiri Chicken are simple and can be substituted easily.
Kashmiri Chili: This recipe calls for a special ingredient Kashmiri lal mirch or /Kashmiri red chili which are large, long chilies that give a bright red color to the recipe and have a mildly spicy taste.
If you have difficulty finding it look in an Indian store. You can use Kashmiri chili powder too for this recipe but the taste would depend on the quality and purity of the powder.
Chicken: I used chicken drumsticks in the pictorial. But you can use chicken leg and breast pieces or chicken cut into 8 pieces. In my experience bone-in chicken works best.
Raisin: I used golden raisins for this recipe. Some people use cashew to thicken the gravy. Raisins would make the gravy mildly sweet while cashew would make it creamy. Some people skip both ingredients. It still tastes great.
Spices for Tempering: The main spices tempering are cumin, and dried red chili (any variety). I used mustard and fenugreek seed for curried flavor. Curry leaves make a great combo but I was short of it.
Yogurt: You can use less or more yogurt depending on the amount of gravy you want in the Kashmiri chicken.
How to make it?
Most people soak whole Kashmiri chili overnight and then grind it. I find grinding whole chilies requires repeated scrapping in between the process. On the contrary grinding dry Kashmiri chili is far easier and can be soaked in hot water. So you same results in less time and effort.
- Break Kashmiri chili into small pieces and grind it to powder.
- Soak Kashmiri lal mirch powder for 5 minutes in ¼ cup boiling hot water to bring out that vibrant red color.
- Soak raisins for 5 minutes in boiling hot water to make them soft. Discard the water.
- Blend Kashmiri mirch, garlic, raisin, cumin, and yogurt together until you have a smooth paste. This will take some time about 2 minutes.
- Marinate chicken for 10 minutes in the paste.
- Cook till chicken is tender and you have the desired consistency of gravy.
- For tempering (tarka), heat oil in a pan and add curry leaves, round chilies, mustard seeds, and kalonji (black seeds). Cook for a minute.
- Now add the tempering to the chicken and cover it to let the aroma infuse in the chicken very well.
Expert Tips
Cashew version: Some people add soaked cashew in the paste to make it creamy. Skip the raisin if adding soaked cashew. Soak cashew overnight so they blend easily.
No raisin version: You can skip the raisin if you intend to serve it with roti or rice. This will make it a more curried taste without having sweet tones.
More ways to use this paste: You can use this Kashmiri chili paste without raisins to make masala aloo and also fried fish. Also, add coriander seeds to the paste for an extra nutty flavor.
Recipe FAQs
Kashmiri masala is a paste made with Kashmiri chilies, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, garlic, oil, and slight vinegar. It is made similarly by soaking and used in curries for color and aroma.
It is used in making all lal masala aloo, lal masala fried fish, tomato biryani and even in mix sabzi.
This recipe makes mildly spicy chicken that has a curried flavor and Kashmiri chili aroma.
If serving a dried version of Kashmiri chicken, serve over a bed of lettuce with a garnish of boiled eggs or slims. Devor the juicy chicken alone. If making a gravy version. Serve with roti or naan and basmati rice.
Hungry for chicken curry? Try these!
If you try this Kashmiri Chicken recipe, I'd LOVE to hear your feedback in the comments. Your 5-ratings motivate me to do my best. Stay connected for more recipes and videos on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Youtube.
📖 Recipe
Kashmiri Chicken
Ingredients
- 500 g chicken pieces
Paste
- 4 to 5 whole Kashmiri red chilies, see notes
- ¼ cup raisin, see notes
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, optional
- ½ cup yogurt
- ¼ cup oil
Tempering
- 2 tablespoon oil
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon  black seeds
- 2 twigs curry leaves, optional but recommended.
- 3-4 Â round red chilies, (sabut gol mirch)
Instructions
Make Kashmiri Paste
- Break Kashmiri chili into small pieces and grind it to powder. Soak Kashmiri lal mirch powder for 5 minutes in ¼ cup boiling hot water to bring out that vibrant red color.
- Soak raisins for 5 minutes in boiling hot water to make them soft. Discard the water.
- Blend soaked Kashmiri chili, garlic, soaked raisin, cumin, and yogurt together until you have a smooth paste. This will take some time about 2 minutes.
Make Chicken
- Marinate chicken in kashmiri paste for 10 minutes in the paste.
- Stir fry chicken for 2 minutes on high heat. Then cover and cook the chicken on medium heat for 20 minutes until the chicken is tender. Add ¼ cup water if needed.
Tempering
- For tempering, heat oil in a pan and add curry leaves, cumin seeds, round chilies, mustard seeds, and kalonji (black seeds). Cook for a minute. Now add the tempering to the chicken and cover it to let the aroma infuse in the chicken very well.
- Cook Chicken until it reaches desired consitency then serve.
myhomeseries says
Can't wait totrythis recipe. Looks delicious and easy to cook. I am really looking forward to tasty and less time-consuming recipes?
Recipe 52 says
This tastes really good. Hope you like it. Please share the feedback.
skd says
The recipe looks and sounds delicious. Blending raisins with chillies is very interesting .Thanks for sharing ? ☺
Mariam Sodawater says
Yeah... and it does n't taste like raisin. Please try and let me know too.
skd says
Sure. Would love to ?
Wendy says
This looks absolutely delicious.. I've printed the recipe for future attempt! Thanks for following my blog.. Much appreciated xx
Mariam Sodawater says
Thank you so much for a lovely comment. ?
Wendy says
You're welcome - I'm looking forward to trying the recipe soon! x
Mariam Sodawater says
Please let me know how it turns out. ?
Wendy says
I will Mariam! x
Umm-e-Aimen Taaha says
My all time favorite recipe easy to make and tastes delicious. Made many time for guests . Its a finger licking recipe.
Mariam Sodawater says
Thank a lot Umm e Aimon, for a lovely review.