Prep Time: 10minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25minutes minutes
Total Time: 35minutes minutes
Chicken Karahi Recipe ( Ingredients )
60 millilitres (60 millilitres) of oil
About 350–400g (≔6-7/7lb) of small chicken, bone in and chopped into curry pieces
Two and a half medium-sized (300 g) tomatoes, coarsely diced (do not purée or mix)
½ bulb garlic, roughly chopped (1 ¼ tablespoon)
½ teaspoon finely chopped ginger; 1 tsp salt, or to taste
One teaspoon paprika or Kashmiri red chilli (a must for a crimson hue)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
One-third teaspoon of chilli flakes
One-half teaspoon of cumin powder
A teaspoon of coriander powder
Optional: ½ teaspoon kalonji onion seeds
One green chilli cut in half lengthwise; one bunch chopped coriander; and one cup (12 ½ g) sliced ginger into the shape of matchsticks.
Guidelines
In a wok, cast iron skillet, karahi dish, or other pan used for stir-frying, heat up your oil and maintain a high heat throughout.
Stir in the chicken. Cook, stirring often, until the chicken starts to turn some golden in spots.
Add the minced garlic and ginger. Fry this in the same pan as the chicken, being sure to stir often and avoid burning any parts. Fry this until the raw scent of the garlic and ginger starts to disappear.
Add all of the spices and diced tomatoes. Add the ingredients and cook on high, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing sticks to the pan’s bottom.
Cook this over high heat for another 20 minutes or so. The gravy will start to bubble with holes in it, the oil will separate, and the tomatoes will thicken and start to cover the chicken. When the oil rises to the top and the holes start to appear, the chicken should be fully cooked at this stage.
Stir in the green chillies and coriander, reduce the heat to a low simmer, and let everything to boil for five minutes with the lid off.
If preferred, garnish the dish with more coriander or green chilli and the matchstick-cut ginger.
Notes: You may cover and boil everything for a few more minutes on low heat if your chicken is still not fully done. If it’s not absolutely required, don’t add water.
Proceed to step 5 and stop if you are not going to serve this right away. When you are nearly ready to serve, go on to step 6.
Optionally, add ½ to 1 teaspoon of garam masala powder with the coriander. If you want the best possible taste and aroma, I would suggest cooking the garam masala fresh at home.
Should you feel compelled to use onions, I suggest chopping up one big onion very small and putting it in the oil before the chicken. Let it fry till it becomes a light golden colour before adding the chicken.
At home, I use pink Himalayan salt. It’s not as harsh as sea salt. Please taste and adjust the salt to suit your needs.
