Kashmiri Chicken

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.

Why try this recipe?

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.

1. Break Kashmiri chili into small pieces and grind it to powder.
2. Soak Kashmiri lal mirch powder for 5 minutes in ¼ cup boiling hot water to bring out that vibrant red color.
3. Soak raisins for 5 minutes in boiling hot water to make them soft. Discard the water.
4. Blend Kashmiri mirch, garlic, raisin, cumin, and yogurt together until you have a smooth paste. This will take some time about 2 minutes.

5. Marinate chicken for 10 minutes in the paste.
6. Cook till chicken is tender and you have the desired consistency of gravy.
7. For tempering (tarka), heat oil in a pan and add curry leaves, round chilies, mustard seeds, and kalonji (black seeds). Cook for a minute.
8. 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

Hungry for chicken curry? Try these!

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📖 Recipe

Kashmiri Chicken

A delicious sweet and sour chicken that can be eaten alone or with rice and naan.

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin

Prep: 20 minutes

Cook: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings : 4 servings

Calories: 437kcal

Author: Mariam Sodawater

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Ingredients

1x2x3x

• ▢ 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   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.

Notes

Kashmiri Chili: Kashmiri lal mirch or /Kashmiri red chili 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 2 tablespoons of 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: You can switch raisins with soaked (overnight) cashew to thicken the gravy. Raisins would make the gravy mildly sweet while cashew would make it creamy. You may skip raisin altogether. It still tastes great.

Spices for Tempering: The main spices of tempering are cumin, and dried red chili (any variety). I used mustard and fenugreek seed for curried flavor. Fresh curry leaves taste amazing if you could add it.

Yogurt: You can use less or more yogurt depending on the amount of gravy you want in the Kashmiri chicken.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 437kcal ,Carbohydrates: 13g ,Protein: 18g ,Fat: 35g ,Saturated Fat: 6g ,Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g ,Monounsaturated Fat: 19g ,Trans Fat: 0.2g ,Cholesterol: 68mg ,Sodium: 80mg ,Potassium: 418mg ,Fiber: 2g ,Sugar: 3g ,Vitamin A: 523IU ,Vitamin C: 73mg ,Calcium: 71mg ,Iron: 2mg

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