Chicken Karahi — Lahori

A Lahori chicken karahi of ripe tomatoes, ginger and black pepper, cooked without onions in ghee.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 20 min
Cook: 50 min
Total: 1 hour 10 minutes
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
4 people
Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

  • 1kg chicken thighs and drumsticks, bone in, skin removed
  • 4 tbsp ghee
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp fresh root ginger paste
  • 1 tbsp garlic paste
  • 700g ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 100g natural yoghurt, whisked
  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds, coarsely crushed
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds, coarsely crushed
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli flakes
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 green chillies, slit lengthways
  • 2cm fresh root ginger, cut into thin matchsticks
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Method

  1. Heat the ghee and oil in a karahi or wide, heavy pan over a high heat. Add the chicken and fry for 6 to 8 minutes, turning, until lightly browned.

  2. Add the ginger paste and garlic paste and fry for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and salt, cover and cook on a medium heat for 12 minutes until the tomatoes collapse.

  3. Mash the tomatoes against the side of the pan. Add the yoghurt, coriander seeds, cumin, black pepper and chilli flakes and cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring often, until the oil rises to the surface.

  4. Add the green chillies and cook for 8 to 10 minutes more until the chicken is tender and the masala clings to the pieces.

  5. Scatter over the ginger matchsticks and coriander and serve straight from the pan with naan.