Whether you call it Murgh Cholay or Chana Chicken this full flavored dish is the heartier punchier version of a classic chicken curry. The addition of chickpeas adds flavour and texture that is both fun and yummy!
🔍 Quick Look: Murgh Cholay or Chana Chicken
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🍳 Cook Time: 35-40 minutes
- 🕒 Total Time: 50 minutes
- 👥 Servings: 6
- 🔥 Cook Method: Stovetop
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy
- Key to Success: Make sure you saute the chicken well for the best flavour!
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I just made this today! It was super easy and came out delicious. The whole family loved it. - Nida
You know you love a dish when you make it despite your husbands complaints. When I first started cooking Murgh Cholay my husband would ask me what the chickpeas were doing in his Chicken ka Salan. Being delicious, that's what.
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- 🔍 Quick Look: Murgh Cholay or Chana Chicken
- Summarize and save this content on
- The Not-so-Secret to Good Murgh Cholay
- Ingredients
- How to make the tastiest Murgh Chana
- Cooking Murgh Cholay: things to watch for
- Murgh Cholay FAQs
- What goes with Murgh Cholay?
- More Chicken Dishes for your Meal Plan!
- Murgh Cholay or Chana Chicken
- Comments
The Not-so-Secret to Good Murgh Cholay
Getting this Chana Chicken recipe just right turned out to be trickier than anticipated. Turns out the problem I was having was that I was using similar ratios of spices for the murgh cholay that I would with a regular chicken salan and that just wasn't right.
You see the chickpeas really soak up flavour and so you need to create a strong spice base otherwise there just is not enough to go around. So don't be shy about the chili powder and the green chilies at the end. Just remember when we cook the green chilies a lot of the aggressive heat of the chilies cooks out anyway.
Ingredients
Or should I say all the ingredients except the chickpeas? Oops.
Chicken: bone in or boneless, you know the drills. Bone in has far better flavour, but boneless is very convenient and we can make both work.
Chickpeas: Okay this is the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT. Here is why: different varieties of chickpeas available are often different sizes and textures. Buying and boiling your own smaller South Asian size chickpeas? Add them in at the end and simmer away. Buying the 'regular' canned ones? Try to source the ethnic brands which tend to be smaller and tastier.
Tip: If your canned chickpeas are tough then add the tiniest pinch of baking soda
How to make the tastiest Murgh Chana
- Step 1: Saute your cumin seeds and then onions until the onions are golden
- Step 2: Add your spice paste ingredients and cook until a chunky jammy texture
- Step 3: Saute the chicken to build colour
- Step 4: Add chickpeas and simmer till the chicken is cooked through
- Step 5: Adjust consistency, taste, adjust seasoning
- Step 6: Serve with roti or rice!
Cooking Murgh Cholay: things to watch for
Onions: when you are sauteeing them aim for golden edges, they will complement the flavour of the subsequent masala and tomatoes instead of competing with them.
Heat: It may be tempting to crank the heat up to expedite the process, but I urge you to stick with medium to medium high heat to avoid burning your ingredients.
Balancing: Tomatoes can vary in flavour, as can many of your other ingredients. This is why adjusting at the end is such an integral part of cooking, when you are done with the base, taste, adjust, and taste again to get the right balance.
Murgh Cholay FAQs
Yes, absolutely, I do find that chickpeas harden a little as they sit but that's nothing a stovetop reheat won't fix!
You can use chicken explicitly cut for curries (12 pieces), drumsticks, chicken thigh or chicken breast. Just please remember to make it skinless
Absolutely! We have done it with great success! You can find more hosting friendly dishes here.
Yes! Storebought ghees can sometimes have a sweet flavour so half oil half ghee may be best there!
What goes with Murgh Cholay?
It cannot be said enough that the beauty of most Pakistani food is that you can eat it on it's own or combined with other flavorful Pakistani dishes. Here are some ideas for you.
More Chicken Dishes for your Meal Plan!
Thank you for being here! Made this Murgh Cholay? I'd love to hear your comments - share them below and do leave a recipe rating! You can also tag me on Instagram @flourandspiceblog
Murgh Cholay or Chana Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless chicken or 1.25-1.5 pounds chicken bone in
- 1 17-19 fl oz can chickpeas drained and rinsed through
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 onion diced
- 2 tomatoes diced
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic paste
- 1 ½ teaspoon ginger paste
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons red chilli powder
- ¾ teaspoon garam masala powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup cilantro
- 3 green chillies finely sliced
Instructions
- Take a stockpot sized pot and put it on medium high heat, wait a few minutes, and then add the oil. When the oil is hot then add in the onions and the cumin seeds & cook until the onions start to turn golden brown at the edges. Highly recommend adding one of your green chilies (diced) in at this point.
- Add the garlic and ginger pastes and saute for 30 seconds, then add the tomatoes salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder, and coriander powder. Cover and keep it on medium high heat and then uncover, the tomatoes should have broken down and become jammy.
- Stir your chicken pieces in and saute until the colour changes.
- Now in goes a cup of hot water, the chickpeas, and a pinch of baking soda (for touch chickpeas), bring it to a boil, and then let it cook covered on low heat for another 25-30 minutes.
- When the chicken is tender then adjust consistency of your gravy by adding water then add the garam masala, the black pepper, the green chillies and cilantro. Cook for 2 minutes then taste and adjust seasoning.
Nadia says
I just made this today! It was super easy and came out delicious. The whole family loved it. We had it with white rice and a chopped salad.
Sarah Mir says
nadia!!! thank you SO much for trying it and for leaving a rating and review!
vinnythepooh says
This was an awesome recipe! I had never heard of combining lentils, beans, and meat into a south asian dish but I am excited to explore all the possibilities now.
Sarah Mir says
I am so so very glad to hear it! Thanks for leaving a review!
Abeer Tebawi says
Made this for iftar the other night and it was such a big hit! Barely any leftovers! My son asked me to make it today again so I did!
I made it with Boneless chicken thighs that I cut into bite size pieces. It came together so easily and is so wholesome and delicious. I also added some bhoona zeera that I roasted and made into a powder. Adds to the warmth and comforting feeling of this dish. Love all your recipes!
Sarah Mir says
That bhoona zeera. I want to clap a little for you because that's the perfect note and I want to add it next time I make it! I am SO SO glad you and your family enjoyed this and am beyond grateful for this review!
Stefano Peluso says
Hi Sarah!
I arrived on your blog looking for a chicken chickpea curry. I have to say that cooking it I realised it was too spicy for my 9yo son so I added half a cup of coconut milk just to sweeten it a bit. The result was great (forgive me for this change 😅). Thanks a lot!
Sarah Mir says
Stefano! The coconut milk addition is just BRILLIANT! Thank you for sharing and I am so glad you enjoyed it!
Hareem Sumbul says
Being a Lahori I’ve had a bazari version of it since I was a kid but somehow it was never ever cooked at home. I’m about to try it and hoping it turns out good enough for my thoroughbred Punjabi husband.
Sarah Mir says
I shall keep my fingers and toes crossed and wait for his review!
Namra Khurshid says
Jazakillah Sara for this, I am trying your recipe today! looks delicious
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
Hope you enjoyed it!!!
Matthew Emig says
I’ve been a fan of Middle Eastern cuisine for a while, and have just begun the journey to learn how to cook it for myself - this recipe was the first I’ve tried, and it came out amazing! Thanks so much! I will now scour your blog to find more yummy dishes to prepare 🙂
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
That is so incredibly wonderful to hear! this is definitely a family favourite and I am thrilled to hear you liked it!
s says
turned out great!
but at the last minute i realised i didnt have baking soda 🙁 so i guess the chickpeas may not have absorbed as much flavour as they should have which meant the dish was quite spicy (great for me but poor husband cant handle heat) i also think i may have been too generous with the laal mirch. but for next time i know!
sarahjmir says
I am so glad it turned out well, feeling a wee bit bad for your husband but that's nothing a little dahi can't fix heheeh On the plus side (for him) the spice factor will mellow out overnight! Thanks for the update 🙂
s says
ok great haha the recipe seems really easy so i dont mind not skipping a step i just wanted to make sure the step where you add water and baking soda and boil didnt turn the chickpeas to mush in case u used the regular ones.
will tell u how it turns out
thanks!
sarahjmir says
always safe to check 🙂 remember this is a teeny tiny amount of baking soda, it helps soften the chickpeas so they become better 'sponges' for flavor
sarahjmir says
Yup I used a can 🙂 Sadly that means there are no skippable steps. I am too much of a lazy bum to soak and boil my own chickpeas heheh
s says
hi! did u use canned chickpeas that are ready to eat and dont need to be boiled? if i use those, is there a step i need to skip?
milkandbun says
I love all ingredients, great flavors! Curry looks mouthwatering and comforting!
sarahjmir says
Thank you so much!
White Pearl says
wow I am falling in Love with your blog !! So Yumm recipes and so easy way to describe them ! My mom is constantly saying me these days to learn making food and I am sure I will learn much from your blog ! Love it xx
myninjanaan says
This looks fab mashAllah! I too never had it growing up, because my family is also from Karachi. I used to eat it at our local masjid potlucks, because most of the people there were Punjabi, so we ate a lot of murgh cholay and chana pulao lol 🙂 My recipe is similar, but I only use a little turmeric, red chili powder, and some garam masala. Yours looks like it would be amazing with some rice!
sarahjmir says
Thanks! chana pulao is also one of those things I only started making relatively recently! Us Karachiites seem to really be missing out on some good stuff! One of my best friends in Karachi was Punjabi so I used to get my fix at her place
Asiya @ Chocolate and Chillies says
Just discovered your blog through My Ninja Naan and so glad I came by...I've been searching for a Murgh Cholay recipe for ages. My mom never made it...in fact I never knew a dish like this even existed till I got married and my husband told me about this dish which at first sounded really weird. But then I tasted it....we would always make it using the Shaan Masala packets but I'm trying to move away from those...pinning this recipe to make later! Looks delicious!
sarahjmir says
Thanks and good luck! Consider yourself fortunate that your husband likes it - mine's standard response is "why are there chickpeas in my murghi ka salan" lol