Name: Kadai chicken recipe | Chicken karahi
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 400 grams chicken ((bone or boneless)); ¾ cup capsicums ((or bell peppers cubed) (optional)); ½ cup onions ((cubed & layers separated) (optional)); ¾ cup tomatoes ((chopped & pureed) (about 2 large)); 1 ½ tablespoons oil ((divided, adjust as needed)); 1 red chili (broken ); ½ teaspoon cumin (or jeera (optional)); ½ cup onions (chopped finely); 2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste; ½ teaspoon Salt (or as needed); ¼ to ½ teaspoon red chilli powder (Kashmiri (optional)); 1/8 to ¼ teaspoon turmeric; 10 cashew nuts ((or 3 tablespoon cream)); 1 teaspoon kasuri methi ((dried fenugreek leaves)); 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (or cilantro finely chopped); 1 ½ tablespoons coriander seeds ((or daniya)); 4 red chilies; 1 to 1½ teaspoons garam masala ( powder); ¾ teaspoon fennel seeds ((optional))

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Kadai chicken is a delicious, spicy & flavorful dish made with chicken, onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic & fresh ground spices known as kadai masala. Kadai translates to an Indian wok which is a most basic kitchen essential in Indian homes. Any dish prepared in an Indian wok using a kadai masala would be named after it like kadai chicken, kadai paneer, kadai mushrooms & so on.

Kadai chicken is almost there on most Indian restaurant menus & is made differently in each place. The recipe shared here is roughly adapted from the popular chefs Vahchef and Nita mehta’s recipes.

This came very close to what I had eaten in some of the best restaurants and loved it.

The fresh ground kadai masala is the key to this yummy and much flavorful dish. There are also so many brands selling kadai masala powder.

If you do not have the whole spices to make the kadai masala then you may consider buying one from the Indian stores.

Coriander seeds, red chillies & fennel seeds are the 3 main ingredients used to make the spice powder. Apart from kadai masala a small amount of garam masala is also used to further flavor up the dish.

Since the garam masala I have used had a good amount of fennel seeds or saunf used, I skipped it while making kadai masala. Kadai chicken looks deep red in color due to the red chilies and deep roasting of the masala.

Step-by-step photos

Preparation for kadai chicken

1. Dry roast coriander seeds, fennel seeds (optional) along with red chilies until crisp. Cool and powder coarsely with garam masala.
2. Puree tomatoes. You can also use chopped tomatoes.

If you do not have cream, then make a fine paste of the cashews in a blender with 4 to 6 tbsps water.

The cashew paste must be very smooth.

How to make kadai chicken

1. This step is optional. Skip if you do not want to use capsicum. Heat a pan with oil. Fry cubed onions and capsicum for 2 to 3 minutes on a high flame. When they begin to smell good, set them aside in a plate.

frying onions capsicum for making kadai chicken recipe

2. Add red chili and cumin.

saute cumin red chili to make kadai chicken recipe

3. When the cumin begins to crackle add onions and fry till golden.

frying onions in pan for making kadai chicken recipe

4. Time to add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell disappears.

frying ginger garlic paste for kadai chicken recipe

5. Add chicken and saute for 3 to 4 minutes.

addition of chicken to onions to make kadai chicken recipe

6. Cover and cook on a low flame for 4 to 5 mins. Do not add water.

cooking covered on a low heat for making kadai chicken recipe

7. Add kadai masala, garam masala, red chilli and turmeric. I mixed up all of them and added here. Saute for another two to 3 minutes.

addition of garam masala to make kadai chicken recipe

8. Add tomato puree, cashew paste and salt. Stir and cook uncovered till the raw smell of tomato puree goes away. The gravy also thickens. This takes around 5 minutes on a medium to low flame.

addition of tomato puree to make chicken karahi recipe

9. Cover and cook until the chicken is soft and fully cooked. Then add onions and capsicums.

addition of fried onions capsicum to make chicken karahi recipe

10. Mix and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

simmering curry to make chicken karahi recipe

11. Pour 3 tbsp cream to a cup, add little tomato gravy from the kadai to the cream. Mix and add back to the kadai.

addition of cream to make chicken karahi recipe

12. Lastly I sprinkled crushed kasuri methi and coriander leaves. I also added a bit more of garam masala. Cook for another two minutes.

sprinkling kasuri methi coriander leaves for chicken karahi recipe

Garnish kadai chicken with coriander leaves, lemon, onion wedges and ginger julienne.

Tips to make kadai chicken

Bone-in chicken tastes best in this recipe as the juices from the bones seep to the curry and make it more flavorful & delicious. However if you do not have bone-in chicken just use boneless chicken like the way I have used.
Kadai chicken is made with fresh ground kadai masala. This recipe also details on making it. You can however use readymade kadai masala powder. If you are accessible then just use a regular garam masala. You really cannot get the flavors of kadai chicken but it will still be a very good dish.
Most restaurants use cubed onions and bell peppers. However you can also skip them as it is not used in the authentic kadai recipes.
Frying the cubed onions & bell peppers on the highest flame will give a smoky aroma to the kadai chicken. You can skip them and just smoke the dish with a charcoal.
Optionally to smoke the kadai chicken, just light a charcoal until hot and place it in a small bowl. Keep this bowl in the kadai. Pour 1 tsp ghee. Immediately the charcoal begins to release smoke. Cover the kadai and allow the cooked chicken to be smoked for about 2 to 3 mins.

You can check Indian chicken recipes
Butter chicken
Chicken tikka masala
andhra chicken fry
garlic chicken
chicken majestic
chicken 65

This post was originally shared in 2013 along with the first picture which I had made without bell peppers & cubed onions. I updated the post with the step by step pictures. Hence there are 2 different pics.

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