Chicken Karahi (Pakistani Recipe)
Ready in just 30 minutes, Chicken Karahi (Pakistani Recipe) is a semi-dry curry with an emphasis on tomatoes, ginger, chilies, and cilantro.
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Ingredients
- 2 lbs cut chicken (see notes)
- ¼ cup ghee (see notes)
- 1 diced onion (see notes)
- 2 teaspoon garlic paste (see notes)
- 2 oz tomato paste (see notes)
- 4 chopped roma tomatoes
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds (see notes)
- 2 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves (see notes)
- 4 sliced green chillies (see notes)
- 2 inch julienned piece of ginger (see notes)
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Heat the ghee until it melts, and then add the finely diced onions to it.
- Cook the onion until it's translucent, and then add the garlic paste to it and saute for 30 seconds or so.
- Add the chicken next, a few pieces at a time, and saute till it turns opaque. (see notes)
- Add the chopped Roma tomatoes and mix.
- Add the tomato paste, salt, red chili powder and turmeric.
- Stir and cook till the Roma's start to release water and the tomato paste and spices mix in.
- Saute the coriander and cumin seeds for 30-45 seconds, then grind them in a mortar and pestle.
- Add these and the fenugreek leaves to the chicken karahi and mix.
- Add the green chilies and all but two tablespoons of the ginger and cook for 3-5 minutes.(see notes)
- Mix in all but 2 tablespoons of the cilantro and turn the stove off.
- Garnish with the remaining ginger and the cilantro, and serve the karahi with fresh hot naan.
Notes
Chicken - Chicken karahi tastes best if made with bone-in chicken cut into small pieces. If you're sourcing the chicken from a South Asian butcher, ask for a karahi cut.
Ghee - It's best to use ghee for an authentic taste. If you can't source ghee, butter is a good substitute. If you using so much ghee or butter unhealthy, I suggest using ½ oil and ½ ghee or butter.
Onions - Traditionally, chicken karahi doesn't have onions. Still, based on customer feedback and recipe testing, I added them to this recipe to add more gravy to dip the naan in. Feel free to omit them if you don't like them in your karahi.
Garlic paste - For this recipe, try to use a homemade paste. For a small batch, you'll need 20 garlic cloves, a garlic press, a mortar, and a pestle. I buy a large bag of peeled garlic cloves, run them through my food processor, and freeze the batch to use over a few weeks.
Tomato paste - This is an ingredient I started adding to my karahi a while back, and I find the two tablespoons add a lot of flavor to the chicken.
Coriander and cumin seeds - This is the only part of the spice blend that you'll have to spend time preparing. Roast the seeds in a nonstick frying pan for 30 seconds to release their aroma. Grind them coarsely in a mortar and pestle and add them to the curry.
Fenugreek leaves - Make sure to use the dried leaves and not seeds, as the former can taste bitter in this recipe. While the herb tastes delicious in the karahi, feel free to omit it if you have trouble sourcing it.
Green chilies - I slice the green chilies lengthwise and add them if it's just my family. You can deseed the chilies if you want the curry to be less spicy. I add the chilies whole when I cook the karahi for a large group. This way, those who want to eat them can pick them out, but because they haven't been cut open, they don't make the curry too spicy for everyone.
Ginger - I love ginger, and this recipe is supposed to have a lot of it, so I've recommended a large amount in the recipe. Feel free to cut back on the amount if you find this too much or if it's a taste you're unfamiliar with.
Cooking the chicken - When adding the chicken to the hot oil, add a few pieces at a time; wait for the oil temperature to rise, and then add a few more until all of the chicken is in the karahi. If all the chicken is added at once, the oil will cool down too much, and the chicken will start to release water. This will affect the final result of the recipe.
Similarly, in the end, when it's time to add the green chilies and ginger, if the chicken is cooked and there is still too much liquid in the karahi, remove the meat with a slotted spoon and set it aside. Cook the remaining ingredients till the liquid evaporates, add the chicken back, finish, and serve.
Nutrition
Serving: 1personCalories: 198kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 11gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 759mgPotassium: 313mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 594IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 30mgIron: 2mg
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