Authentic Indian Kadai Chicken (Boneless Thighs)
This authentic punjabi kadai chicken features juicy chicken pieces in a smoky & spicy tomato onion gravy seasoned with homemade kadai masala.
Ingredients
To Marinate The Chicken
- 600 g boneless chicken thighs cut into 2 inch pieces
- ⅓ cup plain greek yogurt or thick curd
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder (hot), adjust to taste
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Whole Spices for Kadai Masala Powder (Makes extra)
- 3 tablespoon (~15g) coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon (~10g) cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon (~2g) fennel seeds
- 15 black peppercorns
- 4 cloves
- 4-5 whole kashmiri red dried chilies use less if your chilies are longer in size (adjust quantity of chilies to taste)
To Stir Fry Onions & Peppers
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- 75 g bell peppers cut into 1 inch chunks
- 100 g onion petals
For Kadai Sauce
- 3-4 tablespoon mustard oil
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 1 large bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2-3 green chillies (I use hot indian green chilies cut in halves lengthwise so that their seeds can contribute to the heat of sauce) adjust quantity to taste or skip
- 1 tablespoon ginger julinnes
- 180 g chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder (medium hot, I use degi mirch), use Kashmiri chili powder for less heat
- 1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- 5 tablespoon tomato sauce use canned tomato sauce or tomato puree
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder or to taste
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi crshed between palms
- 1.5 tablespoon ghee or butter to finish
Instructions
Marinate The Chicken
- Place chicken pieces in a large bowl and add beaten yogurt, turmeric powder, red chili powder, garlic and ginger paste and salt.
- Coat the yogurt and spices very well on the chicken & set aside for 2 hours. If you refrigerate the chicken, take it out of the fridge 30-45 minutes prior to cooking.
Grind The Kadai Masala
- In a kadai or a wide cooking pot(3 qt or larger), add all the whole spices listed for kadai masala. Dry roast the spices on low heat for 2-3 minutes until the coriander seeds appear & smell toasty and the kashmiri chilies look crispy and slightly plump. Don’t let the spices turn dark brown or black.
- Transfer the spices to a dish and let cool off completely. They will continue to toast for little longer in the residual heat.
- Add the cooled spices to a grinder jar and grind/pulse to make a powder. Don’t make a fine powder- it is alright if few small pieces of spices or chilies remain.
Stir Fry Onions & Bell Peppers
- To the same cooking pot in which we toasted the spices, add 1 tablespoon of ghee (or any neutral oil) and let warm up.
- Add onion petals and bell peppers to the hot ghee. Sprinkle two pinches of salt over them and stir-fry the vegetables for a couple of minutes on medium high heat. We don't want vegetables to soften, just want their skins to get a char while remaining crunchy.
- Take out the stir fried vegetables in a plate and set aside.
Make Kadai Chicken
- Pour mustard oil into the same cooking pot and let heat up on low medium heat until it is a bit smoky.
- To the warm oil, add the cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, bay leaf, ginger juliennes and green chili halves. Saute spices in oil for 8-10 seconds taking care not to burn the spices.
- Add the chopped onions to the pot next and on low medium heat, fry the onions until they are nicely golden brown. This could take 7-9 minutes.
- Next, add the garlic paste and fry with the onions for 20-30 seconds or until the raw smell goes away.
- Lower the heat and add the marinated chicken to the onions. Sprinkle kashmiri red chili powder and 1 teaspoon salt over the chicken. Toss the chicken with the onions, stirring continuously for next 1.5 to 2 minutes to ensure the yogurt warms through without curdling
- As soon as chicken is mixed, bump up the heat to medium and start stir frying the chicken. This process, known as bhunai, requires optimal heat. If the heat is too low, the chicken and yogurt will release their juices, making the kadai watery. If the heat is too high, the chicken may sear on the outside too quickly but remain raw inside. Depending on the how heavy it is and width of your cooking pot, you can do the bhunai on low-medium to medium heat. Adjust heat as needed.
- Stir fry the chicken for about 5-7 mniutes and then add the tomato puree and sugar. Also sprinkle 2.5 tablespoon of kadai masala powder that we prepared earlier.
- Continue the bhunai while stirring intermittently for another 12-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and you see tiny bubbles of oil releasing from the sauce. At this stage if you wish for a little gravy, you can add ? to ½ cup water to adjust the consistency of sauce. After you add water, let cook for 2-4 minutes until water forms part of the sauce.
- To the simmering kadai chicken, add the onion petals, bell peppers, ½ teaspoon kadai masala, garam masala powder, kasuri methi and a dollop of ghee (or butter). Mix well and cook for 5 minutes. Avoid overcooking else the peppers and onions will become too soft.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro and let rest for 15-20 minutes before serving. Serve with warm indian flatbreads, steamed basmati rice or jeera rice.
Notes
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- The kadai masala powder that we prepare is quite hot. If you think you cannot handle the heat, I suggest starting with ½ tablespoon and then adding more gradually as per your taste.
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- Though you can adjust the spice levels as per your taste, don't make kadai chicken too mild because then you are deviating from its authentic taste.
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- If using bone-in chicken pieces, you will need to cover the cooking pot to make sure that the chicken is cooked to the bone. Adjust the cook time as needed.
- Many restaurants also add tomato slices besides onion and bell peppers. You can do so too. Cut tomatoes in long sections and take out the seeds. No need to char the tomatoes, add directly towards the end and let soften
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!