Chicken karahi in 30 minutes, without cutting corners

Karahi is fast food in the best sense. The whole dish depends on a hot pan and good tomatoes, and it is ready before the rice is.

Cook the chicken in oil until it loses its pink, then add the tomatoes whole or roughly cut. Let them soften and peel the skins out as they lift. That is the step people skip, and it is the one that makes the sauce silky.

“If the oil does not separate at the edges, it is not karahi yet.”

The tomato trick

Finish with ginger, green chillies and a little black pepper. Eat it straight from the pan with hot naan.

Recipe card

Print recipe

Serves

4

Prep

10 min

Cook

25 min

Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken, karahi cut
• 5 ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 4 green chillies, slit
• 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp red chilli flakes
• 1 tsp black pepper
• Fresh ginger and coriander to finish

Method

1. Heat oil until shimmering, add chicken and cook on high for 6 to 8 minutes.
2. Add ginger garlic paste and stir for a minute.
3. Add tomatoes, cover for 5 minutes, then remove the skins.
4. Add salt and chilli, cook uncovered until the oil separates.
5. Finish with pepper, green chillies, ginger and coriander.

Sample article on a made-up website. The writer, details and story are for demonstration only.