Matt's Recipe Book

Chicken Karahi

Servings2
Prep time10 minutes
Cooking time30 minutes

This is a straightforward and delicious from-scratch recipe that's become my go-to for curry. The recipe is Pakistani in origin, and the sauce is built from a bit of crushed whole tomato. It's really flavourful and doesn't take long to make at all, considering it's from scratch. It's best with roti in my opinion, but rice is also fine.

Equipment

  • wok or large frying pan

Ingredients

  • 500g skinless, boneless chicken thighs
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 thumb-sized knobs ginger
  • 400g whole tinned tomatoes
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 0.5 tsp ground black pepper
  • 0.5 tsp msg
  • 5 green chillies
  • 25g butter
  • 7g fresh coriander
  • lemon juice

Directions

  1. Prepare the ingredients first. Crush the garlic and half of the ginger together into a thick paste, and crush the cumin and coriander seeds.
  2. Strip the leaves from the coriander and set aside. Julienne the other half of the ginger and also set aside.
  3. Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat. Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces, and once the oil is hot add to the pan along with a large pinch of salt. Cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked and golden brown.
  4. Add the garlic and ginger paste and stir to combine. Add the tomatoes and cook down for about 5 minutes, breaking the tomatoes up to form the sauce.
  5. Add all of the dry spices and stir to combine. Continue to cook for another 5–10 minutes until the sauce has reduced and is quite thick.
  6. Chop the chillies into three or four parts each and add to the pan, along with the butter. Stir while the butter melts to combine. You should end up with a smooth and glossy sauce.
  7. Taste and add salt and lemon juice to taste. Add the coriander leaves and ginger and stir to combine. Serve immediately with rice or roti.