Succulent boneless chicken pieces in a tangy tomato-y sauce, a great weeknight meal and make ahead friendly, this Chicken Karahi of Karahi Chicken deserves a spot in your regular rotation!
What is Chicken Karahi?
A karahi chicken is a classic South Asian tomato forward dish that is made by cooking the meat in a wok shaped pan or "karahi". The idea was that cooking in a wide open pot allowed the masala a greater surface area to cook and develop flavour in a faster time, making this a popular roadside restaurant favorite.
Karahi Chicken also typically doesn't have any onions or yogurt, but here, just as with my beloved Karahi Gosht, I do cheat and add a little yoghurt in. Am I selectively following the rules? Yes. Do I regret it? No. The reason is that boneless chicken needs all the help it can get and I like to be a supportive cook.
If you're looking for an even quicker cook, this Masalalicious Fish Karahi has my heart. Also if you are here and hoping for a drier Balochi style Highway Karahi then that is right here.
Tips for a DELICIOUS Karachi Chicken or Karhai Chicken
- Use a large pot (wok shaped is ideal) for cooking. You want lots of room to cook everything down!
- In a simple dish how you treat spices makes a huge difference. Coriander and cumin seeds that are roasted and coarsely crushed are game changers! If you only have powdered versions quickly roast them in a dry pan on medium heat!
- Ideally you would peel your tomatoes, but I don't always have time for that. If you don't like the bits of tomato skin then puree your tomato or use passata which is SO convenient.
- Garnishes are everything! The chicken alone will be tasty, but the magic happens when you turn the stove off, scatter over thinly sliced pungent ginger, fresh citrusy cilantro, and fresh green chilies. DO NOT cook your garnishes! It takes away from the magic of the dish.
Hope you try this recipe and like it! Do let me know what you think by rating the recipe below. As always you can share your recreations by tagging me on Instagram @flourandspiceblog π
Karahi Chicken (boneless)
Equipment
- Wok or wok shaped pot
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken chopped into bite size pieces
Marinade
- β cup yogurt
- Β½ tsp chili powder
- Β½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
Karhai
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- Β½ tsp chili powder
- Β½ tsp salt
- ΒΌ cup passata or puree from 3 tomatoes
- 3-4 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- Β½ tsp coarse black pepper
Garnish
- 3 tbsp chopped cilantro
- 2-4 green chilies
- julienned ginger (8-12 slivers)
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken in the marinade ingredients for at least 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile dry roast the coriander and cumin seeds in a pan and then coarsely crush
- When you are ready to cook heat your pan on medium high heat and add the chicken, crushed cumin and coriander, passata, salt and chili powder
- Mix well and cook on medium high heat until the liquid is evaporated and the masala starts to stick to the bottom.
- Add the oil to the pan now and cook the masala on medium heat until the oil rises above the masala (the famous bhunna).
- At this point your chicken is done and you should be able to easily break it. If for some reason you cannot then add a splash of water and simmer on low heat until it's to your liking.
- Add the kasuri methi and black pepper and give it a gentle mix. Adjust seasoning!
- Turn off the stove, top with the garnishes and let it sit for a minute before serving so that all the flavours meld. Eat hot with some naan or chapatai!
Notes
- Salt: this is a teaspoon of salt measured with restraint, I always suggest starting off with less and adding more if you aren't comfortable eyeballing the amount.Β
- For more masala the fastest way is to increase the tomatoes. You may also change the recipe around by starting it by sauteeing off a finely diced onion for a more chicken masala kind of dish.Β
AG says
This recipe is a serious life hack for excellent chicken karhai!! Never going back to the 10-step version. Simple, easy to follow recipe, few ingredients, no complicated layering of flavors to get the same excellent karhai taste. Bookmarking forever.
Sarah Mir says
Thanks Ghee!!! Makes me so happy when a recipe works for you - you're part of my OG push to start blogging!
Sara says
The only difficult part of this recipe is to go buy chicken or thaw it in time.. other than that it came together so quick. I made it before leaving for work and while making it, packed kids school lunches and dropped them to school as well. Itβs that easy and so so so tasty! So for all working busy moms or newly wed young girls who are still learning .. this is your recipe to save!
Sarah Mir says
aww thank you so so much for that resounding endorsement! you have no idea how much it means!
Nazifa says
Might be an inane question but just wondering if we put the marinade into the pan along with the chicken or wipe it off first? Leaning towards wiping it off because the yoghurt might split if cooked for so long - no?
Sarah Mir says
Put it alllll in there! yoghurt splits because of the temperature differential not because of the time it takes to cook! hope that helps
Sundus says
As someone who struggles with Pakistani cooking, this was an easy and DELICIOUS recipe to follow packing a punch of flavour!
Sarah Mir says
YAY! Thank you Sundus for this review!!!
Kim says
Canβt wait to try this one! Looks delicious and I agree, the fresh garnishes on top are the real attention getter! Yum!
Sarah Mir says
Absolutely! Thanks Kim!!!
Mehwish Fatima says
This was an easy recipe that delivered big on flavour!!
Sarah Mir says
Thank you so so very much!
Afsheen says
Whole heartedly agree π― π
Sarah Mir says
thank you!
Juveria says
Great recipe . Learnt something new about dried spices addition , trying soon .
Sarah Mir says
thank you!
Amal Parkar says
Assalamu Alaikum Sarah,
Hope you and your family in good health.
I tried this recipe last night and it is a perfect week night dish to cook post work. It was sooooo flavorful. Alhamdulillah.
My husband loved it. JazakAllahu Khairan for sharing such amazing recipes with us.
Sarah Mir says
Wasalam!! Thank YOU for sharing this - happy you liked it and appreciate you taking the time to tell me!
Taybah says
Wow, this recipe is AMAZING! I made it yesterday and my kids and husband devoured it! I did reduce the spice a little bit for the kids, but the flavour was still amazing. This will become a weekly staple π
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
I am so so glad to hear that!!! This is one of my kids favourites too!
Vajeeha says
Made it last night for iftaar snd alhamdolillah it was Reallyyy delicious!!! My husband loved it and got a surprise visit from my sister in law, she loved it too.
Very simple and easy to make!!!
Jazak Allah for sharing. Next time ill do Coal Smoke in it to give it BBQ flavor!! π
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
ooohhhh coal smoke would be AWESOME! I am so so glad you enjoyed it and thank you for sharing that here!
Aneela Rashad says
Ive just made this for dinner and my family, especially my toddler loves it! I always make your kid friendly pulao and my son loves it.
Please if you can, add more kid friendly Pakistani recipes.
We love your recipes. Thank you!!!!
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
I am SO SO happy to hear that! I've been making this for my kids since they were little too! I will put together a Pakistani recipes for kids category soon IA!
Susan says
I made it for lunch today and it was absolutely delicious! So so good with Chapathi. Thank you Sarah for such a yummy recipe!
Mehwish Anwar says
Very tasty and delicious recipe. Thanks for sharing.