White Chicken Karahi

White chicken karahi is a smooth, slightly spicy chicken curry bursting with flavor. It has a delicate and creamy white sauce that you can mop up with warm naan.

Course Dinner

Cuisine Indian

Keyword white chicken karahi

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 35

Total Time 40

Servings people

Calories 437kcal

Author Saima Zaidi

Equipment

1 Blender
1 wok or karahi

Ingredients

½ cup cooking oil
3 bay leaves
½ tsp cumin seeds
3 green cardamom
1 black cardamom
4 cloves
2.2 lbs chicken skinless, bone-in
1 medium red onion chopped roughly
1" piece ginger chopped roughly
5 garlic cloves big, chopped
2 Serrano chillies
1 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
½ tsp garam masala
1 tsp sea salt
½ cup yogurt unsweetened, unflavored
½ cup cream
1 tablespoon ginger juliennes optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

In a blender, add the onion, ginger, garlic and one Serrano chilli along with a quarter cup water. Blend to get a smooth paste.
Heat the cooking oil in a wok or karahi and when it is quite hot, add all the whole spices followed immediately by the chicken. Fry the chicken on medium to high heat until it is slightly browned on all sides (5 minutes).
Add the onion-ginger-garlic-green chilli paste you prepared earlier followed by the black pepper, garam masala, and salt. Cook the chicken on medium heat until the oil separates and the sauce becomes shiny. Stir frequently to prevent it from sticking to the wok (10 minutes).
Now, add the yogurt and cream. Mix well and turn down the heat. Cover the wok and simmer the curry for 15-20 minutes.
Finally, garnish the curry with some julienned ginger and the remaining Serrano chilli. Serve the chicken with some warm naan bread.

Notes

Use a small whole skinless, bone-in chicken cut into 14-16 pieces. You can use boneless chicken in a pinch, but it is the bones that give it depth of flavor.
Don't cut back on the amount of oil as it is the oil which makes the karahi chicken taste so good. It absorbs the flavors of the spices and forms a layer on top of the chicken when cooked long enough. As a rule, I use pure olive oil which is healthier than other oils.

Nutrition