Chicken Angara

By Neha Mathur

4.43 from 14 votes

on Apr 02, 2025

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GFIndian Gluten Free

If you like Chicken Angara at your favorite restaurant, then try my recipe too. You will fall in love with it.

I make chicken curries on almost all weekends. Here are some of my favorite recipes that I make on repeat – Tariwala Chicken, Chicken Salna, Andhra Style Chicken Curry, Tomato Chicken Curry, and Kadai Chicken.

Chicken angara served in a bowl.
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As many of you may know by now, we have moved from Bangalore to the US. The house is mostly settled but I am still not back to shooting new recipes. So, to start back to work, I have started to update some of the old posts that I felt needed some additional information. This chicken angara is also one of them. We love this curry at home and I make it very often. So when I made it 3-4 days back, I also updated the post with some more pointers. Do try this recipe. I am sure you will all love it.

About Chicken Angara

Chicken Angara is a North Indian smoky chicken curry that is spicy, tangy, and loaded with flavors.

Angara means fire ball in Hindi. This Chicken Angara is fiery red hot in color and spicy and smoky taste, just like a fireball, hence the name.

With the smoky flavor of the chicken, the yogurt gravy with fried onions and garlic, and that slight hint of Kasuri methi, the flavors of this curry can make anyone hungry.

It is a popular dish served at many Indian restaurants.

The good news is that you can make this restaurant-style curry at home using a few simple ingredients.

This curry is gluten-free and you can easily double or triple the recipe if making it for a crowd.

Ingredients

All the ingredients, including the curry-cut chicken, are available at Indian grocery stores.

To Marinate The Chicken

Chicken – I like to use bone-in skinless chicken pieces (curry cut) to make this curry as the bones lend a lot of flavor. If you are not a bone-in chicken person, then you can use boneless chicken cut into small pieces.

You can also use chicken drumsticks, which are available in most local grocery stores.

You will also need plain yogurt (dahi, curd), crispy fried onions (birista), ginger garlic paste, fresh tomatoes, Kashmiri red chili powder, turmeric powder, salt, garam masala powder, and Kasuri methi.

You can either make crispy fried onions at home or buy them out.

To Roast And Grind

Make a roasted spice powder using whole coriander seeds, whole black peppercorns (kali mirch), cinnamon (dalchini), cumin seeds, and whole dry red chilies.

For The Gravy

I like to make this curry using a mix of ghee and oil. You can also use either of the two.

You will also need a few whole spices like bay leaves (tejpatta), black cardamoms (badi elaichi) and cloves (laung).

To Smoke The Curry

To give the chicken angara recipe a restaurant-style smoky flavor, you will need a piece of charcoal and some oil or ghee.

If charcoal is not available, then use a cinnamon stick in its place.

How To Make Chicken Angara

Marinate The Chicken

Add the following ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix well using your clean hands so that the chicken pieces are coated well with the spices.

  • 2 pounds (1 kg) bone-in skinless chicken pieces (cut into 1 and ½-inch pieces)
  • 1 cup plain yogurt (dahi, curd)
  • ½ cup crispy fried onions (packed)
  • 2 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
  • ½ cup grated tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoon Kashmiri red chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
  • 1 tablespoon Kasuri methi

Cover the bowl with a lid and keep it aside on the counter.

marination ingredients added to a bowl.
Marinated chicken.

Make The Roasted Spice Mix

Add the following ingredients to a frying pan and dry roast on medium heat until lightly browned and fragrant. Stir continuously while roasting so that the spices roast evenly.

  • 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
  • 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
  • 2-inch piece of cinnamon stick
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 8-10 whole dry red chilies (stalks removed)
Ingredients to roast added to a pan.
Roasted ingredients.

Remove the pan from heat and let the spices cool down to room temperature.

Now transfer the roasted spices to a grinder and grind them to make a smooth powder.

Cooled roasted ingredients aded to a blender.
Fine powder made.

Make Chicken Angara Curry

Heat 3 tablespoon ghee and 3 tablespoon oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.

Ghee and oil heating in a pan.

Once the oil is hot, add the following spices to the pan and fry for 3-4 seconds.

  • 2 whole bay leaves
  • 3-4 cloves
  • 2 whole black cardamoms
Whole spices added to the pan.

Add the marinated chicken and the spice mix that we made earlier and mix well.

marinated chicken and spice powder added to the pan.
Mixed well.

Now reduce the heat to low.

Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 40-45 minutes until the chicken is cooked well. Stir a few times while cooking.

Pan covered with a lid.

Check for salt and add more if needed.

Cooked chicken curry.

Smoke The Chicken Curry

Heat a piece of charcoal (or a cinnamon stick) on a direct flame until it is red hot.

Charcoal heating in a pan.

Keep a small bowl in the center of the pan and keep the hot charcoal in the bowl.

Drizzle 1 teaspoon ghee on top of the charcoal and immediately close the lid of the pan.

Ghee drizzled over hot charcoal.
Pan covered with a lid.

Let the curry absorb the smoke for 3-4 minutes.

Discard the charcoal and remove the bowl.

Removing the bowl.

Garnish chicken angara with chopped cilantro (fresh coriander leaves) and serve hot.

Ready chicken angara.

Serving Suggestions

You can serve Chicken Angara with any Indian bread such as Rumali Roti, Tandoori Roti, Plain Tawa Paratha, Lachha Paratha, Missi Roti, Naan, or any other Indian bread that you would like to serve it with.

It also tastes great with Chicken Biryani, or Mutton Biryani

You can also serve it along with Steamed Rice, Jeera Rice, Indian Turmeric Rice, or Pyaaz Pulao.

Storage Suggestions

Chicken Angara Curry can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Reheat in a pan or a microwave until hot. Add some water if the curry looks thick after refrigerating.

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Restaurant Style Chicken Angara is a spicy chicken curry made using freshly ground masala powder. Make it using my easy recipe at home (gluten-free).
4.43 from 14 votes

Chicken Angara Recipe

By: Neha Mathur
Restaurant Style Chicken Angara is a spicy chicken curry made using freshly ground masala powder. Make it using my easy recipe at home.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 50 minutes
Total: 1 hour
Servings: 6 people
Save Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe Print Recipe

Ingredients 

To Marinate

  • 2 pounds bone-in skinless chicken pieces (1 kg, cut into 1 and ½ inch pieces)
  • 1 cup plain yogurt (dahi, curd)
  • ½ cup crispy fried onions
  • 2 tablespoons ginger garlic paste
  • ½ cup grated fresh tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons Kashmiri red chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
  • 1 tablespoon Kasuri methi

To Roast And Grind

  • 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
  • 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns (kali mirch)
  • 2 inch piece of cinnamon stick (dalchini)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 8-10 whole dry red chilies (stalks removed)

For The Gravy

  • 3 tablespoons ghee
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 2 whole bay leaves (tejpatta)
  • 3-4 cloves (laung)
  • 2 whole black cardamoms (badi elaichi)

For Smoking

  • 1 piece charcoal
  • 1 teaspoon ghee
US Customary – Metric
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Instructions 

Marinate The Chicken

  • Add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix well. Cover the bowl with a lid and keep it aside.

Make The Roasted Spice Mix

  • Add all the ingredients to a pan and dry roast on medium heat until lightly browned and fragrant.
  • Remove the pan from heat and let the spices cool down to room temperature.
  • Transfer the roasted spices to a grinder and grind them to make a smooth powder.

Make Chicken Angara Curry

  • Heat ghee and oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
  • Once the oil is hot, add bay leaves, cloves, and black cardamoms to the pan and fry for 3-4 seconds.
  • Add the marinated chicken and spice mix and mix well.
  • Reduce the heat to low.
  • Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 40-45 minutes until the chicken is cooked well. Stir a few times while cooking.
  • Check for salt and add more if needed.

Smoke The Chicken Curry

  • Heat a piece of charcoal (or a cinnamon stick) on a direct flame until it is red hot.
  • Keep a small bowl in the center of the pan and keep the hot charcoal in the bowl.
  • Drizzle ghee on top of the charcoal and immediately cover the lid of the pan.
  • Let the curry absorb the smoke for 3-4 minutes.
  • Discard the charcoal and remove the bowl.
  • Garnish chicken angara with chopped cilantro (fresh coriander leaves) and serve hot.

Video

Notes

I like to use bone-in skinless chicken pieces to make this curry as the bones lend a lot of flavors. If you are not a bone-in chicken person, then you can use boneless chicken cut into small pieces.
If charcoal is not available, then use a cinnamon stick in its place.

Nutrition

Calories: 408kcal, Carbohydrates: 14g, Protein: 18g, Fat: 32g, Saturated Fat: 16g, Cholesterol: 87mg, Sodium: 168mg, Potassium: 543mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 1618IU, Vitamin C: 90mg, Calcium: 100mg, Iron: 3mg
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4.43 from 14 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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20 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    this is one of my favorite chicken recipes. I like to make it hot with some of the kashimi chili powder as the extra hot kind. I make it in the Instant Pot sometimes. the masala really adds a lot.

    Reply

  2. 5 stars
    Unbelievably delicious. I cooked it in the oven at 190C for 40 minutes instead of cooking it on the stovetop and the chicken was so moist and full of flavour.

    Reply

  5. 5 stars
    Thank you so much for this recipe. I tried making this today and like all your recipes came out to be perfect. Everyone loved the recipe!

    I have a request, there is a dry tandoori chicken style version of chicken Angara that I tried in Jodhpur (raja chicken corner) and I loved it. Can you please see if you can recreate that? Thanks.

    Reply