Chicken Karahi

Introduction

Chicken Karahi is one of my all time favourite curry’s. This recipe in a restaurant standard chicken karahi, in my opinion! A Karahi is a tomato based curry, made with lashings of garlic and ginger which adds to that distinctive tangy refreshing karahi flavour. I love making it at home, mainly due to the speed at which this dish is ready in. It’s the easiest chicken curry to make. However I always order a spicy chicken karahi when I go out to eat too, I love to taste the different variations of this dish.

The page offers a quick and authentic Chicken Karahi recipe, emphasizing that it can be made in under 30 minutes without onions, retaining the classic tangy flavour. It includes fresh ingredients like tomatoes, garlic, ginger, and green chilies. Tips for customization are provided, such as using boneless chicken or adjusting spice levels. The recipe is perfect for a weeknight dinner, paired best with naan or chapati. I love a fast desi recipe.

Chicken Karahi originates from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan, however North India and Afghanistan also have their own versions of this dish. Chicken Karahi is traditionally prepared in a karahi, which is a type of wok. However any type of wok, will work well for this dish. The core ingredients for a karahi are tomatoes, ginger, garlic and chillies. That’s right, there are no onions! This is what really helps to cut down the cooking time, no onions to cut, no onions to brown. The masala for a karahi is really held together by the tomatoes. A karahi has extra tomatoes than your standard curry, which help to give the karahi that signature reddish hue.

Onion or no Onion?

This is the debate with the karahi dish. Do you brown some onions into the masala or not? I’ve had many a conversation about this point and I always hold to my position, that an authentic karahi does not have any onions! However you will see many recipes online and even in restaurants where they will make a karahi with onions in the masala base. Such a shame as it does not need it and this changes the nature of the dish in it’s entirety! So please do not be tempted to add an onion into the masala, just try this recipe and give me your verdict. I honestly have no doubts that you will love it!

Varying the Chicken Karahi

You can use an ordinary saucepan if you do not have a large wok to make the Karahi. It isn’t a deal breaker. However I do feel that cooking it in the large wok adds to the excitement of eating a Karahi.

You can boneless chicken for this dish if you prefer your curry’s without the bone. However, I do love my curry’s on the bone, they always seem to taste better.

I used to make chicken karahi without yoghurt, however I like the addition of the yoghurt as it thickens the masala and offsets the black pepper really nicely. I use full fat natural yoghurt, I wouldn’t use low fat, or fat free yoghurt

Compared to my other chicken curry’s, I use more garlic and ginger in my karahi. This adds to the refreshing flavour with the tangy tomatoes. I always use heaped tablespoons too, do not be scared to be generous in this respect, you will not regret it!

I do tend to make a spicy chicken karahi, I just feel that a good karahi needs that bit of a kick so you can have the full enjoyable experience. Of course add less or more according to your taste. For me three green chillies works very well, taking into account the children’s taste buds.

I wouldn’t use tinned tomatoes for a karahi, you do need fresh tomatoes for that authentic karahi taste. When letting the karahi simmer, you can break down the tomato skins with your spoon, to give a smoother base to the curry. Alternatively, you can finely chop the fresh tomatoes before adding them to the pan.

How to serve Chicken Karahi

I would serve a chicken karahi with naan or chapatis. For me , the thick saucy masala does not sit well with rice. It needs something bread based to be able to enjoy the dish fully.

As with all Pakistani curry’s, garnishing needs to be with fresh coriander. I would also add in julienned ginger like when serving a nihari dish. Then sit down and enjoy your restaurant style Chicken Karahi!

See my video on Youtube, Instagram or TikTok to see how to make this dish.

Ingredients

• 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 whole chicken, cut in pieces or 750 grams of boneless chicken
• 1.5 tsp salt (to taste)
• 1.5 tsp black pepper
• 1 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1.5 tsp coriander powder
• 1.5 tsp cumin powder
• 3/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 3 large tomatoes, (500 grams) roughly chopped
• 2-3 green chillies, finely chopped (to taste)
• 150ml of natural yoghurt
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tablespoon of julienne ginger- garnish
• 1 handful of fresh coriander- garnish

Instructions

• Heat the oil in a karahi or saucepan, keep the heat on high and add the salt, black pepper and chicken. Stir through until the chicken has browned.
• Then add the ginger, garlic, paprika, coriander powder, cumin powder and turmeric. Stir through for a minute or so, until the garlic ginger smell has reduced.
• Then add the tomatoes, green chillies and natural yoghurt, cover the karahi or pan with a lid and let it cook for 10 minutes. Keep stirring at intervals to check the chicken is not sticking to the pan, if it is sticking, add splashes of water.
• Remove the lid and let the chicken cook for a further 5 minutes until the masala has dried out and you can see the oil is separating from the masala. You can break up any tomato skins you see at this stage to create a smoother masala.
• Add the garam masala and stir through.
• Then serve garnished with the julienne ginger and fresh coriander.