This is a Northern Indian street food classic adapted to restaurant style cooking. Like you would get in a restaurant. Not like you usually make at home. I like chicken karahi done homestyle. It’s a relatively simple curry but it has great balance. And it’s a bit different. But when I make it restaurant style I like it better.
Karahi chicken is something new to try
There’s something about the luscious restaurant style sauce that works really well with the brightness of the fresh tomatoes. The cream adds a bit of richness. Upscales it. Not the usual yoghurt you see in most recipes. That little bit of cream really makes the dish. Taste it before and after you add it. You’ll see how big it is… Karahi chicken is little different than the usual suspects. But you can’t live on jalfrezi and tikka masala forever. At least I can’t. There are about a million regional dishes in India. OK. Maybe that’s a slight exaggeration. I have a book I bought in India that has around 1600. In one book. One book! But you only see the same 30 things on every Indian restaurant menu. Over and over. Why? It’s boring. A bit dull. They are some of the greats, mind you. A good rogan josh or madras is a wonderful thing. But come on. Mix it up. Try something new. A billion people can’t be wrong. Chicken karahi is something new. I like new. I’ve seen it at a couple of restaurants. But not many. Pretty rare. Don’t think I’ve ever seen in my home town.
Restaurant style but familiar
But it has the homestyle tastes. The classic mom in the kitchen cooking up a storm tastes. Nothing unusual here. Just simple ingredients put together in a way that works. And the nice thing about karahi chicken is it doesn’t call for a bunch of ingredients you’ve never heard of. The spices are straightforward. You can get almost everything from your local grocery store. The fenugreek leaves are the only oddball ingredient. You might have to hit an Indian grocer to get them. But they add a certain something. So make the effort to get some if you can. If you are new to Indian restaurant cooking the big classic dishes will be all you will want to cook. That’s natural. But if you’ve been at it for a while. If you are looking to mix it up. And if you like homestyle Indian as well as restaurant curries. Then karahi chicken is a great one to try.
