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¾ view of murgh kaali mirch with lemon
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Easy, Lemony Weeknight Chicken Kali Mirch (Pepper Chicken)

Murgh Kali Mirch receives a lemony upgrade in this bright, zesty, well balanced dish
Course Main Course
Cuisine pakistani, indian
Diet Halal
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 4
Author Sarah Mir

Equipment

  • 1 saute pan/ wok with a lid

Ingredients

Chicken

  • ¾ lb boneless chicken cut into ¾ inch cubes
  • 3 tbsp yoghurt
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
  • 1 tsp green chili paste (optional)
  • 1.5-2 tsp bhunna zeera (roasted cumin) see notes

Remaining Ingredients

  • ½ cup finely minced onion
  • 1.5 tbsp finely minced ginger
  • 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ cup water
  • ¼ lemon - cut into segements
  • 2-4 green chilies
  • 3-4 tbsp chopped coriander / cilantro

Instructions

  • Mix the chicken marinade ingredients and set aside while you chop your ginger and onion. I usually just let it sit for 20 minutes, but you can do more.
  • Heat a pan on medium high heat and before you add the oil add your crushed pepper into it, dry roast it until it smells deeply aromatic
  • Now add 3-4 tbsp of oil and your diced onion, cooking on medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until the edges take on colour.
  • Add your ginger into the pan and cook until the edges of the ginger change colour (about a minute or two) - your onions will further caramelize and that's ok.
  • Now stir in your marinated chicken and saute until the color changes.
  • Add your half cup water to the chicken ad simmer, covered, until tender - 25 minutes or so.
  • Once the chicken is cooked add in your lemon segments and green chilies and taste and adjust seasoning to taste with salt/pepper/more bhunna zeera powder
  • Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with chapati.

Video

Notes

  • ginger: I use fresh here for the bite but also the flavour which is more aromatic than a paste. If you don't feel like finely dicing ginger then grating it using a microplane grater is the next best option.
  • bhunna zeera or roasted cumin powder is one of those game changing ingredients that takes 5-minutes to prep. How I make mine is linked here https://body-shift.today/roasted-cumin-powder-a-5-minute-fix/%3C/li%3E
  • If you don't have any and don't want to make a big batch then I suggest you dry roast cumin seeds before dry roasting the pepper and crush them lightly with a mortar and pestle. In a pinch you can also dry roast cumin powder.