Mughlai Chicken Stew Recipe
Mughlai Chicken Stew is a delicious chicken curry made with chicken pieces, simple spices, yogurt, and crispy fried onions. It is a great curry to serve with Tandoori Roti or Plain Naan. Use my easy recipe to make it at home.
Here are some chicken curries that you may like: Chettinad Chicken, Dahi Chicken Curry, Chicken Tikka Masala, Chicken Keema Masala, and Tomato Chicken Curry.
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Table of Contents
About Mughlai Chicken Stew
Mughlai-Style Chicken Stew (Chicken Ishtoo) is a North Indian Mughlai-style chicken curry in which chicken pieces are cooked in a mild gravy made using yogurt, spices, and crispy fried onions.
Sometimes, the simplest dishes are the most delicious, and this chicken curry is a true example. It is a very simple curry made with minimal ingredients, and the flavors of whole spices and onions shine through.
I first had chicken ishtoo at Kareems, a popular restaurant in Old Delhi serving Mughlai food. I loved the curry and tried re-creating it at home. My curry might not be exactly the same as the one served at Kareems, but I can assure you it’s pretty delicious and worth trying.
Serve it with Indian bread such as naan, khamiri roti, or tandoori roti for a hearty meal.
Ingredients
Chicken – Use bone-in, skinless chicken pieces to make this curry.
Ghee and Oil – This curry is made using ghee and cooking oil. You can use any neutral-flavored cooking oil.
Whole Spices – You will need cloves (laung), black peppercorns (kali mirch), black cardamoms (badi elaichi), green cardamoms (hair elaichi), cinnamon (dalchini), mace (javitri), bay leaves (tejpatta), and nutmeg (jaiphal).
Others – You will also need dry red chilies, red onions, plain yogurt (dahi, curd), salt, and Crispy Fried Onions (Birista).
You can also add 1 tablespoon of ginger-garlic paste to this recipe. If adding, add it along with onions.
To make it more robust, add ½ teaspoon garam masala powder at the end of the cooking.
For a totally different taste, add 1 tablespoon of chicken masala powder when you add chicken to the recipe.
Some people also add regular spices, such as coriander powder, red chili powder, and turmeric powder, to their chicken stew recipes. You can also add these for a taste change. I prefer it simple.
How To Make Mughlai Chicken Stew
Step 1: Add the following ingredients to a mortar and pestle.
- 6-7 cloves
- 10-12 black peppercorns
- 2 black cardamoms
- 2 green cardamoms
- 1-inch piece of cinnamon stick
- 1 mace flower
- ¼ nutmeg
Gently crush the spices.
Step 2: Press the SAUTE button on the Instant Pot.
Step 3: When it says ‘HOT’, add 2 tablespoons of ghee and 2 tablespoons of oil.
Step 4: Once the ghee is hot, add crushed spices and 4-5 dry red chilies (broken into small pieces) and saute for 4-5 seconds.
Step 5: Add 250 g thinly sliced red onions and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
Step 6: Add 500 g bone-in, skinless chicken (cut into 1 ½-inch pieces) and cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring frequently.
Step 7: Now add the following ingredients and mix well.
- 1 cup of plain yogurt, whisked
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup crispy fried onions
Step 8: Add ¼ cup of water and mix until well combined.
Step 9: Close the Instant Pot lid and set the valve to the sealing position.
Step 10: Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 6 minutes at high pressure.
Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.
Release the remaining manually and open the lid.
Check for salt and add more if needed. Serve hot.
Note – To cook the curry in a traditional pressure cooker, follow the recipe until water is added on medium-high heat. Pressure cook for 1 minute on medium-high heat. Then, reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the cooker from the heat and let the pressure release naturally. Open the lid and serve.
Storage Suggestions
Mughlai Chicken Stew can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Reheat in a pan or microwave until nicely hot before serving. Add some hot water while reheating if the curry has thickened.
You can also freeze it for up to a month. Thaw, reheat, and serve.
Other Chicken Curry Recipes We Recommend
Chicken Curries
Instant Pot Chicken Curry Recipe
Chicken Curries
Kadai Chicken (Chicken Karahi Curry)
Chicken Curries
Achari Chicken Curry
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Mughlai Chicken Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- 6-7 cloves (laung)
- 10-12 black peppercorns (kali mirch)
- 2 black cardamoms (badi elaichi)
- 2 green cardamoms (hari elaichi)
- 1 inch piece of cinnamon stick
- 1 mace (javitri)
- ¼ nutmeg
- 2 bay leaves
- 4-5 dried red chilies (broken into small pieces)
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 250 grams red onions (thinly sliced)
- 500 grams bone-in skinless chicken (cut into 1 and ½ inch pieces)
- 1 cup plain yogurt (dahi, curd) (whisked)
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ½ cup crispy fried onions (birista)
Instructions
- Add cloves, black peppercorns, black cardamoms, green cardamoms, cinnamon stick, mace flower, and, nutmeg to a mortar and pestle.
- Gently crush the spices.
- Press the SAUTE button on the instant pot.
- When it says HOT, add ghee and oil.
- Once the ghee is hot, add crushed spices and dry red chilies, and saute for 4-5 seconds.
- Add onions and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add chicken and cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Now add yogurt, salt, and crispy fried onions and mix well.
- Add ¼ cup of water and mix well.
- Close the instant pot lid and set the valve to the sealing position.
- Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 6 minutes at high pressure.
- Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.
- Release the remaining manually and open the lid.
- Check for salt and add more if needed. Serve hot.
- Note – To cook the curry in a traditional pressure cooker, follow the recipe until water is added on medium-high heat. Pressure cook for 1 while on medium-high heat. Then, reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the cooker from heat and let the pressure release naturally. Open the lid and serve.
I would love, to make this curry! But i dont have an instant pot or pressure cooker…
Hey Christian, you can make the curry in a pot but the cooking time will be atleast 1 hour. Adjust the water as per requirement.