Pakistani Chicken Karahi

Recipe By creativecookie
Rating
Published Apr 4th
Prep 30m Cook 36m Additional - Ready In 1h 6m
Servings 6 servings Calories 429.1

This dish gets its name from a karahi, a flat open pot used a lot in Pakistani and Indian cooking. In spite of its name, this recipe can be made in any pot. My mom came up with this recipe; it’s a little spicy (by Pakistani standards), but simple and foolproof. Serve with naan bread.

Recipe Ingredients

  • ½ cup sunflower oil
  • 1 (3 pound) whole chicken, giblets discarded, cut into 12 pieces
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ginger and garlic paste
  • ½ teaspoon red chile powder
  • ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 6 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 4 green chile peppers, finely chopped, or more to taste
  • 1 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped

Cooking Directions

  1. 1 Heat oil in a large pot or karahi over high heat. Add chicken pieces and cook until starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add water, cumin, salt, ginger and garlic paste, red chile powder, and turmeric; cook and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
  2. 2 Stir tomatoes and green chile peppers into the pot. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until chicken pieces are no longer pink at the bone, about 30 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
  3. 3 Sprinkle cilantro leaves over the chicken and cook until the leaves look slightly wilted, about 30 seconds.

Nutrition Facts

  • Calories 429.1
  • Carbohydrate 9.5 g
  • Cholesterol 61.4 mg
  • Fat 33.4 g
  • Fiber 2.7 g
  • Protein 23.1 g
  • Saturated Fat 5.8 g
  • Sodium 698.2 mg
  • Sugar 5.5 g

Chef's Notes

Substitute corn oil for the sunflower oil if desired.

Reviews

  1. Lemmonhead Oct 27, 2018 10:49 AM
    i have to start with a huge complaint. Maybe its just my ignorance...but i dispise recipes that lioe this one call for green chiles. like jalapenos are the same as pablonos or Anaheims. the first time iwent with Anaheim's. this time i added jalapenos and pablanos. both times i added. cardamom and doubled garlic and - Read more ...
  2. Daniazkitchen May 15, 2018 12:24 AM
    Dry coriander powder and sliced ginger are also added mostly in Paksiatni Karhai recipe. I think ginger on top is like a must.
  3. Harold Howell Mar 1, 2018 01:25 AM
    I make sure that I cook out all of the water and have a gravy like consistency as my Pakistani friends have taught me. I even added some ground coriander as one friend recommends. Once you get it gravy like the seasoning really comes out and gives the chicken so much flavor. I have made - Read more ...
  4. Citi786 Oct 21, 2017 03:57 AM
    My dear friend sorry to break the news but this recipe is decades old. Secondly you need to fry all the spices first and then add the chicken and garnish. Third it's a Pakistani recipe and not Indian.
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