Chicken Karahi

Ingredients

Main

• 1 kgbone-in chicken, cut small on the bone into 12–14 pieces
• 120 mlghee, or 100 ml oil plus 2 tbsp ghee
• 600 gripe tomatoes, halved (skins left on)
• 2 tbspginger-garlic paste
• 8green chillies, 4 slit and 4 left whole
• 1.5 tspsalt

Spice

• 1 tbspcoriander seed, coarsely crushed
• 1 tspcumin seed
• 1 tspred chilli flakes
• ½ tspturmeric
• 1 tspblack pepper, coarsely ground
• ½ tspgaram masala
• ½ tspdried fenugreek leaf (kasuri methi), crushed

To finish

• 40 gfresh ginger, cut in fine julienne
• 1small bunch coriander leaf, roughly chopped
• 1lemon, cut in wedges
• naan or roghni naan, to serve

Directions

1. Heat the ghee in a karahi or a heavy wok over the highest heat you have until it shimmers and a drop of water spits instantly.
2. Add the chicken all at once and fry hard for 8–10 minutes, turning, until the pieces are seared golden in patches and the water they release has boiled off. Do not cover the pan at any stage.
3. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry 2 minutes until the raw smell goes and it starts to catch.
4. Throw in the halved tomatoes, skins and all, and the whole green chillies, and cook over high heat 12–15 minutes, pressing the tomatoes against the side of the pan with the spoon as they collapse.
5. As the skins loosen, pull them out with tongs and discard them – this is the Lahori way of getting tomato flavour without a purée-like texture.
6. Add the crushed coriander, cumin, chilli flakes, turmeric, black pepper and salt and continue on high heat, stirring and scraping, until the gravy tightens around the chicken and the ghee separates and pools bright red-orange at the edges. This is the moment the dish is made; it takes 8–10 minutes and cannot be rushed with a lid.
7. Check the chicken is cooked through – the juices at the bone should run clear – then stir in the slit chillies, garam masala and crushed kasuri methi and cook 2 minutes.
8. Take off the heat, scatter over the ginger julienne and coriander leaf, and let it sit 3 minutes so the ginger softens slightly but stays sharp.
9. Serve in the karahi itself, straight to the table, with hot naan and lemon.

Technique

• Karahi is a dry, high-heat dish, cooked uncovered from start to finish. The moment you put a lid on it you have made a curry instead.
• The only liquid comes from the tomatoes and the chicken. No water, no stock and no onion go into a proper Lahori or Peshawari karahi.
• Ghee matters here. The visible separation of orange fat around the edge of the pan is both the doneness signal and half the pleasure of the dish.

Substitutions

• No karahi? Use the widest, heaviest wok or cast-iron pan you own so the moisture evaporates fast – a saucepan will steam the chicken.
• Mutton karahi uses the same method but needs the meat braised tender in its own juices for 45 minutes before the tomatoes go in.

Variations

• Peshawari karahi, made with only meat, tomato, salt and green chilli – no turmeric, no coriander seed, sometimes finished with a spoon of yogurt.
• Lahori karahi, the richer version with a fuller spice list and ginger julienne, as here.
• Balti-style karahi, cooked with onion and capsicum, a later restaurant development.

History

Cooked fast in the wok-like karahi; the Peshawar version uses only tomato, chilli and salt, and spread nationwide through highway dhabas.

Frequently asked questions

What is Chicken Karahi?

Chicken Karahi is a main from Pakistan: chicken fried in a wok with tomatoes, ginger and green chilies. Cooked fast in the wok-like karahi; the Peshawar version uses only tomato, chilli and salt, and spread nationwide through highway dhabas.

How long does Chicken Karahi take to make?

Chicken Karahi takes 15 min of preparation and 35 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Chicken Karahi?

Yes, within limits. No karahi? Use the widest, heaviest wok or cast-iron pan you own so the moisture evaporates fast – a saucepan will steam the chicken. Mutton karahi uses the same method but needs the meat braised tender in its own juices for 45 minutes before the tomatoes go in.

What is the most important thing to get right in Chicken Karahi?

Add the chicken all at once and fry hard for 8–10 minutes, turning, until the pieces are seared golden in patches and the water they release has boiled off. Do not cover the pan at any stage.