What is Chicken Karahi?
Karahi is named after the pan in which it was originally cooked – a heavy, often cast-iron pan that’s similar to a wok, but rounder with a flatter base. Traditionally, Traditionally, people would simmer and stir-fry meat in this karahi over an open fire. Enter your email below and get it sent straight to your inbox. Plus, get recipes & tips every week! I’ve read in multiple places that karahi originates in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly Northwest Frontier) province of Pakistan, which makes sense given the cuisine’s heavy use of meat and black pepper. Chicken Karahi’s distinct features are its rich, tomatoey base and a fragrant finishing of green chili peppers, cilantro, and slivers of ginger. Compared to Chicken Salan, Chicken Karahi is more ‘bhuna‘/sautéed down. More Karahi-style Recipes: Mutton (Goat/Lamb Karahi) and Achari Chicken
Does Chicken Karahi include onion?
Most would agree that traditional Pakistani chicken karahi does not include onions. But when I polled my Instagram community, I found that the majority preferred it with the onions. After several trials, I decided to include a small onion simply because I just can’t get enough of karahi’s ‘masala’ and onions help produce more of the good stuff. Nonetheless, it is totally up to you. If you don’t want to add them, feel free to omit.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This Chicken Karahi recipe requires simple ingredients commonly used in South Asian cooking. Here are a few things to note:
Oil/Ghee
I’ve used oil for fluidity and ghee for taste. This recipe doesn’t require as much oil as most Karahis, but you can increase the oil or ghee as desired for a more restaurant-like finish.
Type of Tomatoes Used in Karahi
The tomatoes are the star ingredient in Chicken Karahi, so it’s important to use ripe, tasty ones. I’ve tried this recipe with both Roma and vine tomatoes and they both work well. However, I prefer Roma because vine tomatoes can sometimes add too much moisture while cooking the curry. When in doubt, go for the tastiest tomatoes available.
Chicken Cuts and Using Boneless Chicken
Traditionally, Karahi is made from a cut up whole chicken. One tip regarding the chicken cuts is to make sure your chicken pieces are small. This is often called karahi cut, which is 1 chicken cut into around 18 pieces. Basically, try not to use a large-sized chicken or large cuts. Note: This recipe calls for around 2-2.2 lbs of chicken. Adjust salt, spices, etc. according to the amount of chicken you have. Also, if you’re only serving 2-3 people, you can use around 1 pound of chicken and halve the rest of the ingredients.
How to Make Karahi
Here’s what we’re trying to achieve at each step:
More Tips for Making the Best Chicken Karahi:
What to Serve with Chicken Karahi
Typically, curries with lots of gravy (like Butter Chicken or Classic Chicken Salan) go well with both rice and roti, and curries with minimal gravy (like Chicken Jalfrezi or Mixed Vegetable Curry) go well with roti. Since Chicken Karahi is a ‘dry’ curry, it’s perfect with Tandoori naan, paratha, roti, or other bread. Tried this recipe? If you have a minute, please consider leaving a comment telling me how it was! You can also take a quick picture and upload it directly into the comments. If you’re on Instagram, please tag me so I can see your creations. I truly love hearing from you. Thank you!
