Chicken Karahi

Chicken Karahi or Kadai Chicken is one of the most popular chicken dishes in Pakistan and India, especially among restaurants and street food. It is famous for its rich and spicy tomato gravy with a touch of ginger and Kasuri methi which gives a wonderful and unique flavor to this dish.

Ingredients for this Chicken Karahi vary depending on the region. The Pakistani version of this dish doesn't use any onions or bell pepper whereas the Indian version which is the Kadai Chicken recipe uses sauteed onions and bell peppers to add a slight crunch to the dish. Regardless both versions are delicious !!

Feel free to use the button at the top of the page to go to the recipe directly or the table of contents below to go to any section of the page you want. The recipe card has all the information that is needed to make the recipe perfectly. However, I try to provide as much useful information in the post for the readers who are looking for it.

What is a Karahi

A Karahi is a thick, circular, and deep cooking pot that is similar to a Wok but with steeper sides. It is predominantly used in Indian, Afghan, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Nepalese cusines.

Chicken Karahi or Karahi Murgh simply translates to Chicken dish made in a Karahi. Plain and simple!!

Ingredients

Let's take a look at some of the ingredients used for this Karahi Chicken recipe. I will not list all the ingredients here as the detailed list of ingredients and instructions are given in the recipe card below.

However, I will mention some tips in choosing the right kind of ingredients for this dish.

• Tomatoes: Tomatoes are the star ingredient in this dish. So try to use the fresh tomatoes as much as possible and choose the best quality tomatoes you can get that are not too firm or too soft and juicy. If they are too firm, they won't have the rich tomato taste, on the other hand, if they are too juicy, they will release a lot of water and it will be very tricky to evaporate all that water to get the right consistency gravy without overcooking the chicken.
• Chicken Cut: Bone-in chicken gives the best taste to this dish, however, you can also use the boneless chicken. Just adjust the cooking times accordingly.
• Ginger: As we are using ginger juliennes to garnish this Chicken Karahi, use fresh ginger with firm unwrinkled skin to make sure it is not too old. Thick and dried skin is a sign that ginger might be too old.
• Turmeric and Curry Leaves: You can skip these if you don't have them. They are not very important to this dish but we are not used to making any savory dishes especially non-vegetarian dishes without turmeric and we love to add curry leaves in many savory dishes..
• Spices: As with any other curry, use the freshest ground spices that you can for the best flavor. Especially I always crush black peppercorns in my trusty mortar and pestle, just before using them to get the best taste out of them.

Step by Step Instructions with Pics

Making Chicken Karahi is very easy. Just keep all the ingredients ready before you start and follow the instructions with tips carefully. I promise you will make one of the best chicken karahi recipes ever. Let's get cooking!

Preparation:

Note: I strongly suggest keeping all the ingredients ready before you start cooking Karahi Chicken even though that is not what I usually do for other dishes. Since we are mostly cooking on high heat, if we multi-task while making the curry, it might not end well. 

• Blanching tomatoes: Heat water in a vessel that is big enough to fit 5 whole tomatoes. Once the water comes to a rolling boil, switch off the stove and place the 5 tomatoes in the water and leave it COVERED for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, remove the tomatoes from the water, peel the skin and dice them into small pieces and keep them ready to use in the curry.
• Measure out all the spices onto a plate and keep them ready. (If you want to reduce the spice level, start by adding only half of the red chili powder and black pepper powder and add as per your taste later)
• Whisk the plain yogurt in a bowl and keep it ready.
• Slit the green chili pepper into thin strips ( deseed them and slit) and cut the ginger into thin julienne strips.
• If you want to make it like Kadai Chicken which is the Indian version of this recipe, then also cut one small onion into cubes and one small green bell pepper into cubes.

Making of Chicken Karahi

• Heat a heavy-bottomed karahi or wok or similar kind of flat bottomed wide opening pot on stove-top and add oil.
  • Pro tip: Always heat your wok really well before adding any oil to avoid sticking
  • Optional step for Chicken Kadai recipe: Add a little oil in the hot wok, just enough to saute Onion and Bell pepper cubes, and saute the onion and green bell pepper cubes for around 2 to 3 mins on high, just until they start softening a little but still have a crunch to them. Now remove them onto a plate or bowl and set them aside to add to the dish at the end. Now proceed with the other steps.
• When the oil is hot, add turmeric powder and curry leaves and let them sizzle( be careful and step back when you add curry leaves as they splatter oil ).
• Now add 1.5 teaspoons of salt to the oil and then add the chicken pieces right away and stir well. Saute the chicken pieces in the oil on high heat, without the lid for 4 to 5 minutes until they change color. Stir in between to avoid sticking and burning. The chicken will release water during this process and by cooking on high heat, we are trying to evaporate that water while sauteeing the chicken.
• After 5 minutes of adding the chicken, when the chicken pieces start to look a little whitish in color, add ginger garlic paste and stir well. 
• After 2 mins, add cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, and black pepper powder and stir well.

• After a minute of sauteing the spices with the chicken, add the blanched, peeled, and diced tomatoes and mix them well with the chicken. Cover and cook for 5 minutes on medium-high heat while stirring in between. Tomatoes will release a lot of water while getting cooked. 
• Now open the lid, mix well, slightly increase the flame if required, and cook without the lid to evaporate all the water that is released from the tomatoes to get the curry to our desired consistency.
• Check the taste and add a little more salt at this point as needed (Since we are using a lot of tomatoes, salt usage might also increase when compared to other curries).
• After few more minutes, reduce the heat to medium and add the whisked yogurt and mix well. ( You can also temper the yogurt by mixing little gravy from the curry in the yogurt before adding the yogurt into the curry, this will avoid any curdling problems.)
• When the chicken is almost done and gravy is close to your desired consistency, crush the Kasuri methi between your palms, add it to the curry and stir well.
• Cook down while stirring in between until the oil comes out, chicken pieces are cooked to perfection and gravy is as per your desired consistency. Check the taste and adjust spices accordingly. Authentically, karahi chicken recipe has slightly thicker gravy. But we like it with lots of gravy. You can keep it however you want.
• Now in the last 2 minutes, add the thinly sliced green chili peppers, ginger juliennes, and cilantro on the top, stir lightly and cover for 2 minutes. If you are using the optional cubed onions and bell pepper then also add the sauteed onion and bell pepper cubes now in this step.
• Chicken Karahi is ready to serve. Traditionally it is served with any flat-bread like naan, paratha, roti e.t.c. or basmati rice, simple pulao e.t.c

Some more Chicken Recipes that you will love

• Chicken Palak | Spinach chicken curry (Stovetop & Instant pot)
• Air fryer Chicken Drumsticks
• Instant Pot Chicken Congee ( Rice Porridge)

Tips and Tricks

Please follow these tips to make an effortless and best Chicken Karahi recipe.

• I strongly suggest keeping all the ingredients ready before you start cooking Karahi Chicken even though that is not what I usually do for other dishes. Since we are cooking on high heat, if we multi-task while making the curry, it might not end well. 
• Use the best quality tomatoes that you can get as they are the key to this dish. Choose tomatoes that are not too juicy or soft and not too firm. Do NOT reduce the number of tomatoes used as it is very important to use that many to get the authentic taste of this dish.
• Always heat your wok really well before adding any oil to avoid sticking.
• While adding the yogurt, you can temper the yogurt by mixing little gravy from the curry in the yogurt and mixing before adding the yogurt into the curry, this will avoid any curdling problems.
• Bone-in chicken gives the best taste to this dish, however, you can also use the boneless chicken. Just adjust the cooking times accordingly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use tomato puree instead of diced tomatoes?

Instead of blanching, peeling, and dicing, you can also just puree the fresh tomatoes and add in the curry. However, I personally like blanching, peeling, and dicing as this will give a smooth gravy and richer taste but with occasional tomato pieces to bite on which are very yummy.

What is the difference between Karahi Chicken and Kadai Chicken?

Karahi Chicken and Kadai Chicken are pretty similar. Karahi Chicken is the Pakistani version of this dish and Kadai Chicken is the Indian Version of this dish. Most of the ingredients used are the same for both dishes however Kadai Chicken uses lightly sauteed cubed onions and green bell peppers in the dish to add a little crunch whereas Karahi Chicken does not use any onions or bell peppers.

Storing and Reheating

Karahi chicken can be definitely made in advance for up to 1 to 2 days and in fact, flavors get much richer and deeper the next day like many chicken curries.

Make sure to store it in an air tight container in refrigerator and reheat just before eating either in a microwave or on a stovetop pot.

How to Serve

Karahi Chicken tastes best when served with any flatbread like Naan, roti, chapati, etc.. with a side of lemon wedges and lacha onions ( thin onion slices marinated with salt and lemon juice for few minutes).

It also tastes excellent with rice, either with plain rice (Basmati Rice Instant Pot (Perfectly Fluffy)) or simple pulao like this Bagara Rice (Instant pot & stove top).

In dhabas and restaurants, many times it is served it serving size Karahi.

Recipe

Chicken Karahi | Kadai Chicken recipe

Yamini

An easy and delicious karahi chicken recipe or chicken Kadai with a rich tomato base and a touch of ginger. Serve it with naan, roti, or rice and sliced onions for a delicious meal.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Servings 6

Ingredients

  

• 2.5 tablespoon oil any oil with a high smoke point like canola, coconut, avocado oils
• 2.2 lb chicken bone-in thighs cut into medium size pieces for curry or bone-in whole cut-up chicken of weight
• 1.5 lbs tomatoes I used 5 Vine tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
• 1 sprig curry leaves Optional
• 1 inch Ginger cut into Julienne
• 1 to 2 green chili peppers thinly sliced Serrano or Jalapeno or any similar chili peppers
• 3 tbsp Plain Yogurt whisked smooth
• Cilantro for garnish

Ground Spices

• ¼ teaspoon turmeric optional
• Salt to taste it might take around 2.5 to 3 teaspoons of salt, depending on the type of tomatoes and salt you use
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1.5 teaspoons coriander powder
• 2 teaspoons red chili powder you can use Kashmiri chili powder if you like mild spicy
• 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
• ¾ teaspoon Kasuri Methi crush it between your palms before you use
• ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder

Optional Ingredients for Chicken Kadai version of this recipe

• One small onion cut into cubes around ¾ to 1 cup
• one small green bell pepper cut into cubes around ¾ to 1 cup

Instructions

 

Preparation:

• Keep all the ingredients ready before you start cooking Karahi Chicken even though that is usually not the case. Since we are cooking on high heat, multi-tasking might not give best results. 
• Blanching tomatoes: Heat water in a vessel that is big enough to fit 5 whole tomatoes. Once the water comes to a rolling boil, switch off the stove and place the 5 tomatoes in the water and leave it COVERED for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, remove the tomatoes from the water, peel the skin and dice them into small pieces and keep them ready to use in the curry.
• Measure out all the spices onto a plate and keep them ready. (If you want to reduce the spice level, start by adding only half of the red chili powder and black pepper powder and add as per your taste later)
• Whisk the plain yogurt in a bowl and keep it ready.
• Slit the green chili pepper into thin strips ( deseed them and slit) and cut the ginger into thin julienne strips.
• If you are making the Indian version of this dish which is the Chicken Kadai recipe, then cut one small onion and one small green bell pepper into cubes.

Making of Chicken Karahi

• Heat a heavy-bottomed karahi or wok or similar kind of flat bottomed wide opening pot on stove-top and add oil.
• Pro tip: Always heat your wok really well before adding any oil to avoid sticking.
• Optional step for Chicken Kadai recipe: Add a little oil in the hot wok, just enough to saute Onion and Bell pepper cubes, and saute the onion and green bell pepper cubes for around 2 to 3 mins on high, just until they start softening a little but still have a crunch to them. Now remove them onto a plate or bowl and set them aside to add to the dish at the end.
• When the oil is hot, add turmeric powder and curry leaves and let them sizzle( be careful and step back when you add curry leaves as they splatter oil ).
• Now add 1.5 teaspoons of salt to the oil and then add the chicken pieces right away and stir well. Saute the chicken pieces in the oil on high heat, without the lid for 4 to 5 minutes until they change color. Stir in between to avoid sticking and burning. The chicken will release water during this process and by cooking on high heat, we are trying to evaporate that water while sauteeing the chicken.
• After 5 minutes of adding the chicken, when the chicken pieces start to look a little whitish in color, add ginger garlic paste and stir well. 
• After 2 mins, add cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, and black pepper powder and stir well.
• After a minute of sauteing the spices with the chicken, add the blanched, peeled, and diced tomatoes and mix them well with the chicken. Cover and cook for 5 minutes on medium-high heat while stirring in between. Tomatoes will release a lot of water while getting cooked. 
• Now open the lid, mix well, slightly increase the flame if required, and cook without the lid to evaporate all the water that is released from the tomatoes to get the curry to our desired consistency.
• Check the taste and add a little more salt at this point as needed (Since we are using a lot of tomatoes, salt usage might also increase when compared to other curries).
• After few more minutes, reduce the heat to medium and add the whisked yogurt and mix well. ( You can also temper the yogurt by mixing little gravy from the curry in the yogurt before adding the yogurt into the curry, this will avoid any curdling problems.)
• When the chicken is almost done and gravy is close to your desired consistency, crush the Kasuri methi between your palms, add it to the curry and stir well.
• Cook down while stirring in between until the oil comes out, chicken pieces are cooked to perfection and gravy is as per your desired consistency. Check the taste and adjust spices accordingly. Authentically, karahi chicken has slightly thicker gravy. But we like it with lots of gravy. You can keep it however you want.
• Now in the last 2 minutes, add the thinly sliced green chili peppers, ginger juliennes, and cilantro on the top, stir lightly and cover for 2 minutes. If you are using the optional cubed onions and bell pepper then also add the sauteed onion and bell pepper cubes now in this step.
• Chicken Karahi is ready to serve. Traditionally it is served with any flat-bread like naan, paratha, roti e.t.c. or basmati rice, simple pulao e.t.c

Notes

• Authentically, halved fresh tomatoes are added to the chicken and cooked with the lid on for few moments after which the skin is peeled and tomatoes are smushed into the gravy. However, it might be a challenge to do that in time and then evaporate all the water without overcooking the chicken. Hence I am using this method of blanching, peeling, and dicing tomatoes before starting the curry, to keep it simple and straightforward.
• Bone-in chicken gives the best taste to this dish, however, you can also use the boneless chicken. Just adjust the cooking times accordingly.
• Tomatoes are the star ingredient in this dish, so for best taste, use good quality fresh tomatoes which are not raw and not too ripe.
• Instead of blanching, peeling, and dicing, you can also just puree the fresh tomatoes and add in the curry. Blanching, peeling, and dicing will give a smooth gravy and richer taste with occasional tomato pieces to bite on which are very yummy.

Keyword best chicken karahi recipe, Chicken Karahi, Kadai Chicken recipe, Karahi Chicken, Karahi curry

We love to hear from you !! Try this delicious and easy Chicken Karahi and let me know in the comment section below how did it turn out !! Pin it using the Pin it button in the recipe card above and you can also rate the recipe using the stars in the comment section below.

• 15 Awesome Indian Chickpea Recipes (including but not limited to Chole)
• Easy and Delicious Beerakaya Kura with Milk
• Easy Tomato Beerakaya Pachadi | Ridge Gourd Chutney
• Andhra Tomato Miriyala Rasam | Jeera Miryala Rasam
• Chicken Salan