Chicken – 1 kg, bone-in, skin-off pieces of medium size
Green bell pepper – 2, cut into 1 inch piece
Onion – 3, large, finely chopped
Ginger paste – 2 tbsp
Garlic paste – 2 tbsp
Tomato – 4, large
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Kashmiri Red chilli powder – 2 tsp
Garam masala – 1 tsp
Sugar – 1 tsp
Vegetable or mustard oil – ¼ cup
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander leaves – 1 cup, chopped
Kadai Spice Blend –
Whole dry red chilli – 2
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp
Green cardamom – 6 to 8
Cloves – 6 to 8
Cinnamon – 2 inch piece
Black cardamom – 2
Whole black peppercorn – 8 to 10
Mace – 1 tsp
Instructions
First make the kadai spice. Dry roast all the spices listed under Kadai spice blend for couple of minutes until fragrant. Then grind them into a powder. Set aside.
Peel and cut each of the tomatoes into half. Deseed them and then chop them finely. Deseeding the tomatoes will get rid of extra water and tartness.
Wash and pat dry the chicken. Add some salt and half a teaspoon of turmeric powder to the chicken and mix well.
Heat a large pot and add the oil to it. Once the oil is medium hot, add the sugar, stir and let it caramelize, keeping the heat on medium. Adding sugar at the beginning will add a bright red color to the final dish.
Add chopped onion and saute for couple of minutes until it starts to soften. Then add ginger and garlic paste. Saute them on medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes until the onion turns golden.
Now add the chopped tomatoes and salt. Let the tomatoes cook for 10 minutes.
Then add all the spices – turmeric powder, red chilli powder and the kadai spice blend. In case the skillet is too dry add couple of splashes of water and saute the spices for 2 minutes.
Then add the chicken pieces. Stir well so that all chicken pieces are coated with the spices generously.
Cover and cook the chicken on low heat stirring after every 5 minutes so that they do not stick to the bottom of the pot. No need to add water at this stage as chicken will release water of its own.
Saute the chicken for good 20 minutes until all the pieces are nicely browned. Add the green bell pepper and give a quick stir. I like the crunch of the capsicum to be retained which is why I add them at this stage of the cooking.
Now add about a cup of water or more depending on the consistency you desire and let the liquid come to boil on high heat.
Once the gravy starts boiling, cover and let it cook on low heat for about 10 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked through.
Uncover and give a stir. Check the seasoning and adjust if needed. Boil off any excess water until you get your desired consistency.
Sprinkle garam masala and some freshly chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with plain white rice or butter naan!
Recipe by Flavor Quotient at http://www.flavorquotient.com/2016/08/restaurant-style-kadai-chicken-authentic-chicken-karahi-recipe/