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Restaurant karahi chicken in an Indian styles serving dish.
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4.88 from 41 votes

karahi chicken curry

Get those great karahi chicken curry flavours with the rich, lush sauce you only get in restaurants.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Main
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: indian chicken curry, karahi chicken curry
Servings: 2
Calories: 500kcal
Author: romain | glebekitchen

Ingredients

The spice mix

  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp kashmiri chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp kasoor methi - dried fenugreek leaves
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper - coarsely ground
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt

The chicken

  • 12 oz boneless skinless chicken - 3 thighs or 1 large breast
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • chicken stock to cover

Karahi chicken

  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 tbsp onion - finely diced
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste - plus enough water to get to the consistency of passata
  • 4 tbsp fresh tomato diced
  • 1 tbsp garlic ginger paste - recipe link below
  • 1-2 green chili sliced
  • 15 oz curry base - recipe link below
  • 1/6 lemon - juiced
  • all of the spice mix
  • the pre-cooked chicken
  • 1 tbsp cilantro leaves - finely diced
  • 2 tbsp heavy cream

Instructions

The spice mix

  • Combine all the spice mix ingredients. Set aside.

Pre-cook the chicken

  • Add the chicken, curry powder and salt to a small pot. Cover with chicken stock and bring to a simmer.
  • Cook until the chicken is just done. This takes about 10-12 minutes. 
  • Drain the chicken and set aside. 

Chicken Karahi

  • Be ready. Have your curry base simmering on the stove. Make your spice mix. Chop all the ingredients and have them at the ready. This is going to go very fast. You don't have time to mess around.
  • Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the oil.
  • When the oil starts to shimmer add the onion and green chilies. Cook, stirring constantly, until the onions just start to brown on the edges. This takes 2-3 minutes.
  • Add the garlic ginger paste and cook until it stops sputtering, about 1 minute.
  • Lower the heat to medium low. Add the spice mix. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 30-45 seconds. You want to bloom the spices in the oil. You don't want to burn it. If you burn the spices, start again. There's no fixing it.
  • Add the diluted tomato paste. Stir to combine and cook for about a minute.
  • Turn the heat up to medium high. Add 3 oz of the curry base. Stir to combine and cook until it it starts to crater. Little holes will appear. See the guide to Indian curries to understand what this means if you aren't sure.
  • Add another 6 oz of curry base. Stir to combine and cook until it craters.
  • Now add the remaining curry base. Cook until it craters and reduce the heat to low. Add the chicken stir to mix. Simmer for about 3 minutes. 
  • Add the fresh chopped tomatoes, cilantro and lemon juice and cook for another 2 minutes or so. If the curry gets too dry add a bit more curry base.
  • Add the cream. Stir to combine. Serve. Enjoy!

Notes

The recipe for garlic ginger paste is here.
The recipe for curry base is here.
If you haven't read about Indian restaurant technique yet, do that before you start cooking. Have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go.
If you are making multiple curries, have your curry base warming in a pot on the stove. If you are just making one, microwave it to warm it up right before you start cooking.

Nutrition

Calories: 500kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 129mg | Sodium: 1210mg | Potassium: 993mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 840IU | Vitamin C: 16.1mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 2.2mg