Chicken Bhuna Masala

Chicken bhuna masala or bhuna murgh is a dry chicken curry sautéed in a thick, caramelized onion masala. The spices seep into the chicken, intensifying all the flavors and making it super-delicious!

Course Dinner

Cuisine Indian

Keyword bhuna murgh, chicken bhuna, dry chicken curry

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 35

Total Time 45

Servings people

Calories 749kcal

Author Saima Zaidi

Equipment

1 Small frypan for roasting the dry spices
1 Spice grinder for grinding the spices
1 Large frypan for shallow frying the chicken
1 Wok or karahi for cooking the chicken

Ingredients

Whole spices

5 cloves
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
4 green cardamom
1 ½ tablespoon coriander seeds

Other ingredients

¼ cup cooking oil for shallow frying the chicken
1 chicken bone-in, skinless, cut into 14 pieces
⅓ cup cooking oil canola or sunflower oil
2 red onions medium-sized, sliced fine
1 tablespoon ginger paste heaped
1 tbsp garlic paste heaped
1 tomato medium-sized, chopped
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 ½ tsp salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preparation

Put all the whole spices in a small frypan and turn on the heat to medium. Stir until the spices change color and give off a distinct fragrance. Take the frypan off the heat and allow the roasted spices to cool down.
Put the spices in a dry grinder or mortar and pestle and grind to a rough powder. Don't fine grind them as we want a little texture here.
Slice the onions finely and chop the tomato.

Cooking

Heat ¼ cup oil in a large frypan and slide in the chicken. Fry until the chicken is slightly browned at the edges. Don't worry about cooking the chicken fully as it will get cooked later in the wok. Keep aside.
Put a wok or karahi on the hob and add ⅓ cup cooking oil. Allow it to become hot, then tip in the sliced onions. Fry on medium heat, stirring frequently until the onions caramelize or become reddish-brown.
Add the ginger and garlic pastes and chopped tomato. Sauté this masala (bhuno) for 5 minutes or until the tomatoes soften and the oil separates. You can add a splash of water if the masala is sticking to the wok.
Add the fried chicken along with the pan drippings, dry spice mixture prepared earlier, red chilli powder and salt. Mix everything well and sauté (bhuno) on medium heat for 5 minutes.
Cover the wok with a tight-fitting lid and allow the chicken to cook on low to medium heat for 15 minutes. The steam created inside the covered wok will prevent the masala from burning.
After 15 minutes, switch off the heat, but let the wok rest on the hob for 5 minutes before removing the lid. Serve hot with naan or pita bread.

Notes

Avoid adding water at any stage in the cooking if you can. If you feel, however, that the chicken or spices are in danger of burning, add a few splashes of water only, just enough to moisten the food. Too much liquid can spoil the 'bhuna' look and taste of this curry.
Don't skip dry roasting the whole spices as this makes the dish a lot more tastier.
If you want to use fresh ginger garlic paste, here's how: put equal quantities of ginger and garlic in a blender with a few tablespoons of water and blend until you get a smooth paste. Use the quantity as mentioned in the recipe and store the extra in a sealed glass bottle in the fridge.

Nutrition