Chicken Karahi Recipe

Make this tomato-based tangy Pakistani Chicken Karahi in just 35 minutes! You can use fresh or canned tomato puree. Just basic Indian spices for this tangy and buttery stir-fried curry. Do check the easy video recipe!

The basic technique of making chicken karahi is bhunna or cooking on high heat until oil separates. You need a large cooking surface that allows searing.

Also, avoid crowding the pan and cooking karahi in bulk as the moisture won't evaporate easily and you will miss the rich karahi taste. If you need to cook for a large group, consider cooking in two separate works.

The Secret to Best Karahi

I fried the chicken first in kadai just like they do it on Dhabas in Karachi. Why? We all know chicken karahi has a short cooking time compared to Lamb karahi. So if you cook chicken in tomato puree it gets either over-cooked or chicken flesh comes falling off the bone.

Sometimes tomatoes could have a raw taste if chicken karahi is cooked on high flame. Both conditions will spoil the taste and delicacy of Karahi. So frying chicken and then adding to tomato later helps overcome over-cooking of chicken.

Ingredients

The ingredients of the karahi or kadai chicken recipe are more or less the same what makes all karahi different is the technique. Authentic chicken karahi is made in ghee with the main ingredients of meat, tomato chilies, and ginger. A lot of stir-frying, in the end, is a key factor in making karahi.

A visual of chicken karahi ingredients is always helpful. But I won't list all the ingredients which are clearly visible and labeled too.

• Chicken: Bone-in chicken is best for karahi. Boneless chicken can also work but the fats from bones add more flavor to karahi.
• Ghee or oil: I used oil in this recipe to keep it simple and healthier. But the dhabas use ghee and I must confess ghee AKA clarified butter tastes much better.
• If you don't have ghee consider using a mix of oil and butter. Lastly, Dhaba karahi is loaded with fat and I'm using bare minimum fat. You can't reduce it further or karahi would taste watery and not as good.
• Fresh tomatoes: Fresh, flavorful, deep red, fully ripened, and firm tomatoes add a lot of flavor to the recipe. I used freshly made puree because we don't like tomato skins in a karahi.
• But sliced tomatoes also work very well and are easier too.
• Ginger: Chicken Karahi means a load of ginger garnish and more ginger in the curry. The depth of taste comes from fresh ginger.
• Black pepper: Freshly grounded pepper tastes far more intense than bottled pepper. So the extra effort of grinding is worth it.
• Green chilies: Just like ginger, green chilies are a must for karahi. And the aroma of chilies plays a big role in the overall Karahi look and flavor.
• Look for thicker and less spicy chilies for garnish. While in the curry goes smaller spicier chili paste.
• Dried fenugreek, optional: This adds a very Punjabi or Lahori touch to the karahi but you can skip it. Get more info about fenugreek here.
• Kashmiri chili powder or paprika: This ingredient is mainly for the color of chicken karahi. But if your tomatoes have rich red color, you can do without it.

Tomatoes Pureed or sliced

Using tomato puree instead of sliced tomatoes is also helpful to get an even texture with the skin. But if you cook long enough sliced tomatoes work well too and dissolve quickly.

Cooking tomatoes for a long is necessary because tomatoes release lycopene upon slow cooking. So if you don't give the tomato enough time to cook. It gives a raw taste to a chicken karahi.

Why add onions?

Authentic chicken karahi doesn't have onions. And you can skip it if you like less gravy. I added a small onion so I have enough masala to be enjoyed with naan. Alternately, you can add 1 extra tomato to skip the onion.

How to make it?

I posted this chicken karahi recipe many years back and today when I update the recipe with new photos, I have simplified it by skipping the grinding of spices. The rest of the recipe remains the same.

1. In a wok fry chicken in oil or ghee with salt and pepper for 2-3 minutes until color changes.
2. Color has changed and few golden marks are visible. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon leaving oil in the pan. Set aside.
3. In the same wok, fry finely chopped onions for 3 minutes until onion is translucent. You can skip onions if you like.
4. Add the spices and for a minute until spices sizzle.

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