Kadai Chicken is a delicious Indian chicken curry where chicken is cooked with freshly ground spices. This spicy curry goes well with naan or any other Indian bread.
If you are looking for more Chicken Recipes, here are some more that can be prepared for everyday meals – Chicken Angara, Chicken Masala, Achari Chicken, Fresh Methi Chicken Curry, and Badami Chicken Curry.
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About This Recipe
Kadai Chicken which is also known as Karahi Chicken or Karahi Murgh is cooked in an Indian vessel called Kadai, which is a heavy-bottomed pot or a wok, hence the name.
Anything that is cooked in Kadai with this special Kadai masala, gets the name such as Kadai Chicken, Kadai Paneer, Kadai Mushrooms, and so on.
To make Kadai Chicken, chicken pieces are marinated in a spicy ginger garlic paste and then cooked along with big chunks of onions and capsicum in a spicy rich tomato gravy.
The key to making a delicious Karahi Chicken is in its masala, which is made fresh by roasting and grinding a few everyday spices.
Always use a fresh masala to make this dish, as the taste of freshly ground spices is always better than using a store-bought masala. But if you don’t have these spices at home, you can alternatively opt for the store-bought Kadai Masala.
Also, a tip from my side, fry the cubed onions and capsicum on high heat as it gives them a smoky flavor which tastes great when mixed with the chicken.
So next time you want to make something that has a restaurant-style touch, then give this Kadai Chicken a try.
This Kadai Chicken is,
- Delicious
- Easy to make
- Just like the restaurant one
- Perfect for weekend meals
Ingredients
Chicken – I make Chicken very often at home, as it is high in protein. And this dish is my favorite way to use Chicken for a curry.
I always try to use chicken with the bone to make curries as the bones add a lot of flavor to them. Having said that, you can still go ahead and use boneless chicken if you prefer that.
For Marination – In this recipe, Chicken is marinated with certain ingredients that include ginger garlic paste, Kashmiri red chili powder, salt, and lemon juice. It is kept aside for 30 minutes so that the chicken soaks up the flavor well.
Kashmiri red chilli powder gives the chicken a nice colour, without making it too spicy.
Onions and Capsicum – Just like Kadai Paneer, here also we will add cubed Onion and Capsicum along with Chicken.
Onions and Capsicum are cubed in big pieces and then cooked on high heat to get that smoky flavor.
For Kadai Masala – Coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, black peppercorns, and dry red chilies are roasted till they are aromatic and then ground into a fine powder.
The dry red chilies give this powder a beautiful red color, which also adds to the color of this gravy.
Yogurt and Fresh Cream – These two ingredients make the gravy creamy and also adds richness to the same, making it even tastier.
Other Ingredients – To make the base curry, we will need some everyday ingredients that include oil, black cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves, onions, tomato puree, Kasuri methi, ginger garlic, green chilies, all-purpose flour, garam masala powder, salt, and turmeric powder.
These whole spices, spice powders and other ingredients combined adds a lot of taste in this dish, which makes it irresistible.
Step By Step Recipe
Mix chicken with ginger garlic paste, Kashmiri red chili powder, salt, and lemon juice in a bowl.
Cover the bowl and let the chicken marinate for 30 minutes.
Dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, black peppercorn, and dry red chilies on medium-low heat until they are browned and fragrant.
Cool and grind the roasted spices to make a powder.
Heat ghee and vegetable oil in a pan.
Once the oil is hot, add black cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaves and let them crackle for a few seconds.
Add onion and fry until it turns light brown.
Add ginger, garlic, tomato, green chili and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Now add the marinated chicken and the ground masala and cook on high heat for 5-6 minutes.
Add yogurt whisked with all purpose flour. Whisking yogurt with all purpose flour prevents it from splitting.
Add ½ cup of water and salt to taste and cover the pan.
Cook the chicken on low heat until it is almost cooked. Add capsicum, onion cubes, garam masala, and turmeric powder and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Add fresh cream and kauri methi and mix well. Serve hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Making Kadai Masala at home is an easy process. Just dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, black peppercorns, and dry red chilies till they are aromatic and then ground into a fine powder. That’s it!
Store it in an airtight container and it stays good for about 2-3 months at a cool and dry place.
I always prefer the homemade Kadai Masala as it is freshly made and uses high-quality ingredients, unlike Store-Bought masala.
Also, the homemade one is free of artificial colors and preservatives, thus making it better than the store-bought masala.
Yes, you can follow the same recipe and use Mutton instead of Chicken, but keep in mind that Mutton takes much more time than Chicken to cook. So the time of cooking will differ in both the recipes.
If you are a big fan of smoky flavor, you can give that effect to this recipe too. Just add red hot charcoal in a steel bowl and place it in the middle of the chicken gravy in the pan. Pour some ghee on coal and cover the pan with a lid.
Let it rest for about 5 minutes, open the lid, and remove the coal bowl from the pan. There you have your smoked Kadai Chicken ready.
I marinate it for about 30 to 40 minutes, which is enough for this recipe. But if you have more time on your hands, you can marinate it upto 3 to 4 hours too.
Serving Suggestions
This full of flavor and absolutely spectacular curry goes well with any Indian Bread such as Naan, Tandoori Roti, Phulka, Tawa Paratha, Laccha Paratha, Missi Roti, Rumali Roti and any other bread that you like to eat it with.
As it is a bit more on the drier side, it certainly does not go well with Rice or Pulavs. So if you want to serve it with Rice, maybe keep it a little semi gravy side.
Storage Suggestions
It stays good for 2 to 3 days when refrigerated, but if you want to increase the shelve life of this cooked chicken curry, you can freeze it for about 2 to 3 months in a freezer bag or in an airtight container.
This curry just like any other curry taste s best the next day. So if you plan to cook it a day in advance for the best flavor.
Pro Tips By Neha
I always prefer bone-in chicken pieces for this Kadai Chicken, as they turn out juicy and soaks up the marination flavor nicely than the boneless chicken.
Always make the Kadai Masala fresh at home, this adds a unique and refreshing taste that will not come from the store-bought masala.
I have used onions and capsicum to give it that restaurant-style touch, but you can skip adding it too and make it just with chicken.
Cook the onion and capsicum on high heat, it adds a smoky flavor that further adds this smokiness in the chicken too.
You can even use red and yellow capsicum instead of green capsicum in this recipe.
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Recipe Card
Kadai Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
To Marinate
- 750 g Chicken (Curry Cut)
- 2 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
- 2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- 2 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
To Roast and Grind
- 1 tbsp Coriander Seeds
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 tsp Fennel Seeds
- 2 tsp Black Peppercorns
- 2-3 Dry Red Chillies
For the Gravy
- 3 tbsp Ghee
- 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 2 Black cardamom
- 1 inch Cinnamon
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1 cup Onion (Chopped)
- 1 inch Ginger (Juliennes)
- 2 tsp Garlic (Chopped)
- 1 cup Tomato (Grated)
- 4-5 Green Chilli (Slit into half)
- Salt to taste
- ¼ cup Yogurt (Whisked with 1 tsp all purpose flour)
- ½ cup Capsicum (Cubed)
- ½ cup Onion (Cubed and separated)
- ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
- ½ tsp Garam Masala
- ¼ cup Fresh Cream
- 1 tbsp Kasuri Methi
Instructions
- Mix chicken with ginger garlic paste, Kashmiri red chilli powder, salt and lemon juice in a bowl.
- Cover the bowl and let the chicken marinate for 30 minutes.
- Dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, black peppercorn and dry red chillies on medium low heat until they are browned and fragrant.
- Cool and grind the roasted spices to make a powder.
- Heat ghee and vegetable oil in a pan.
- Once the oil is hot, add black cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaves and let them crackle for a few seconds.
- Add onion and fry until it turns light brown.
- Add ginger, garlic, tomato, green chilli and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Now add the marinated chicken and the ground masala and cook on high heat for 5-6 minutes.
- Add yogurt whisked with maida.
- Add ½ cup of water and salt to taste and cover the pan.
- Cook the chicken on low heat until it is almost cooked.
- Add capsicum, onion cubes, garam masala and turmeric powder and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add fresh cream and kauri methi and mix well.
- Serve hot.
