Kadai Chicken Recipe (Chicken Karahi)

Make this restaurant style Kadai Chicken for a hearty Indian meal. Serve it with Butter Naan, Chapati, Tandoori Roti, Basmati rice or Jeera rice. Kadai Chicken also known as Karahi Chicken is a popular dish from the Indian sub-continent. Chicken is slow cooked with tomatoes and spices in a special iron wok known as kadai.

There are numerous kadai dishes made across regions, with chicken, mutton, vegetables and paneer. All these dishes are cooked in a kadai so they are named after that like Kadai Paneer, Kadai Mushroom etc.

Also a lot of times a special spice blend known as kadai masala is used to flavor the dishes. Kadai Masala consists of coarse crushed coriander seeds, fennel seeds, dried red chilies and black pepper.

This restaurant style Kadai Chicken is a modernized version of the actual age-old North-Indian Karahi Chicken. The dish is mainly popular in the restaurants and dhabas and is cooked in an iron kadai which imparts a unique flavor to the dishes.

Modern Vs Traditional

The authentic North-Indian version does not use onions and bell peppers like the modern restaurant style dish. It is plain old chicken simmered with ghee/ mustard oil, plenty of tomatoes, ginger, garlic & coarsely crushed whole spices.

It is sometimes finished with yogurt or cream & does not have much sauce. Karahi Chicken is garnished with ginger juliennes and green chilies. Here is a picture of the same.

However in the modern days you find kadai chicken made with onions and bell peppers to balance the flavors. Using only tomatoes can make the dish too sour so it is addressed with the inclusion of onions which adds sweeter tones.

Bell peppers are used to bring in some smoky flavor (when they are stir fried on a high heat).

While this may look similar to Chicken Jalfrezi, the difference lies in the use of kadai masala and cashews/cream/yogurt. Also Kadai Chicken is always made with fresh tomatoes and jalfrezi with canned tomato puree or a small amount of ketchup is added for a umami flavor. Sometimes soya sauce is also added for a twist.

This restaurant style Kadai Chicken is a keeper and has been roughly adapted from the popular chefs Nita Mehta and Vahchef. Over the years this recipe has been upgraded for more flavor and ease of making.

It tastes very close to better than what you get in standard North-Indian restaurants. Much of the flavor and the texture comes from the kadai masala (shared in the post).

Restaurants use various ingredients like yogurt, cream and cashew paste for a creamy texture. You can do the same based on your preference. If you don’t like bell peppers feel free to exclude from this recipe.

In the past 2 years I have also found this Curry Sauce (no carrot) being added to the kadai dishes for more volume & unique taste.

More Indian Chicken Recipes
Chicken Bhuna
Butter Chicken
Chicken Tikka Masala
Chicken 65

Photo Guide

How to make Kadai Chicken (Stepwise Photos)

Make Kadai Masala

1. Firstly prepare kadai masala or use store bought kadai masala or chicken masala. You can make this ahead and store in a air tight jar for few months. Here are the ingredients used:

• 1½ tablespoons coriander seeds (I use 2 tbsps)
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 2 cloves
• ½ inch cinnamon
• 3 green cardamoms
• 2 to 3 black pepper corn ( or use ⅛ tsp crushed)
• 1 dried Kashmiri red chili

2. Dry roast coriander seeds and red chili on a medium heat, for 2 mins. Add fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon, cardamoms and black pepper. Roast for another 2 mins, until aromatic. If using crushed black pepper add at the end. Cool the spices and add them to a grinder.

3. Make a fine powder. A lot of people like to use coarse crushed spices but we don’t prefer grits in the dish. If you want you may coarse crush them.

Preparation

4. To make Kadai Chicken, you need to prepare the following. Once you are done chopping the onions, you may begin to cook while you prepare the rest. This saves some time.

• ¾ cup (100 grams) onions chopped finely
• 1¼ cup (300 grams) tomato puree (2 medium tomatoes pureed)
• ¾ tablespoon ginger garlic paste
• ½ cup onions (cubed & layers separated) (optional)
• ½ cup capsicums (bell peppers cubed) (optional)

5. Gather the following spices:

• ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (use up to 1 teaspoon for heat)
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• ½ to ¾ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
• 1 Kashmiri dried red chili broken
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds /jeera (optional)
• 1 teaspoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
• ½ to 1 teaspoon garam masala (adjust to taste, I use ¾ tsp)

6. You may leave out this ingredient if you don’t prefer creamy taste. You will use 3 tablespoons heavy cream or yogurt (not sour) or 10 cashews. Powder the cashews first to a fine powder, add 4 tablespoons water and grind to a smooth puree.

Make Chicken Karahi

7. On a medium flame, heat 2½ tablespoons oil or ghee in a pan/kadai. When the ghee is hot, add cumin seeds and red chili.

8. Add fine chopped onions and saute until golden, for 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the ginger garlic paste and saute for 30 to 60 seconds.

9. Add chicken.

10. Saute until the chicken turns pale, for 3 to 4 mins.

11. Lower the heat and stir in the spices – red chili powder, turmeric, salt and kadai masala.

12. Pour the tomato puree and mix well. Cook on a medium heat until the puree turns slightly thick and loses its raw flavor, for 3 to 4 mins. It is normal for the tomato mixture to splutter.

13. Partially cover the pan. Cook further until the chicken is tender and fully cooked through. The gravy should be thick at this stage. To check if the chicken is cooked through, cut a largest boneless chicken piece with a spatula or a butter knife. You should be able to cut through easily. Or your thermometer should read 165 F at the thickest part of the chicken.

Stir Fry Bell Peppers (optional)

14. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a wok.

15. Add the onions and bell peppers. Stir fry on ahigh heat for 2 mins until the peppers are slightly blistered.

16. When the Kadai chicken gravy is thick to your liking, add the stir fried onions, bell peppers, kasuri methi and more salt if required (taste test first).

17. Next pour the cashew puree. If using yogurt or cream, pour 3 tablespoons to a small bowl and mix with a few tablespoons of gravy first. Mix well and stir it back to the kadai chicken.

18. Lastly simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Do not overcook as we don’t want the veggies to lose crunch.

Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with 2 tablespoons coriander leaves or with 1 inch ginger juliennes and 1 sliced green chili.

Pro Tips

• To make the authentic karahi chicken, simply leave out the onions and bell peppers in the recipe. Also avoid using sour tomatoes and balance the flavors by playing around with spices and cashew puree. If you don’t do that you may end up with a tomato sauce like dish.
• If you are making this dish ahead, make sure you add bell peppers only at the time of serving. The bell peppers can impart stronger flavor to the dish when you reheat.
• Avoid overcooking bell peppers.
• This post has been updated with new photos and instructions for clarity. The recipe is the same with minor adjustments to the spices.

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This recipe was first published in Jan 2013. Updated in September 2023.

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