Shan Masala Recipe – Chicken Karahi

How could I possibly make a Shan Masala Karahi recipe post without including my absolute favourite, tried and tested: Chicken Karahi? It’s because I saved the best for last, of course.

Most of the steps here will be the same as my previous post on how to use the Shan Masala Karahi mix to make Shrimp Karahi, with the only material difference being the cooking time for the meat.

Ingredients
2 lbs of chicken
4-5 large tomatoes
4-5 green chillies
1/2 red onion
1/2 bunch cilantro
5-6 table spoons of cooking oil
2 teaspoons of ginger paste
2 teaspoons of garlic paste

Procedure
(Steps 1-3 are literally the same as here, so you can refer to that for pictures if you need to)

1. Prep ingredients:
Chop your onions, tomatoes, and cilantro and put aside.

2. Cook tomatoes:
With your pot on medium-high, add 2 table spoons of oil.
Add in 1 teaspoon of ginger paste, and 1 teaspoon of garlic paste.
Add chopped tomatoes and your green chillies and stir occassionally.
You want to stop when your tomatoes are more or less cooked. Set aside.

3. We’re going to cook the rest separately. Heat your pot and add 3-4 table spoons of oil. Add in the chopped onions and fry on medium-high until tender.

4. Add 1 teaspoon of ginger paste and garlic paste, along with your chicken. Stir fry until the chicken changes colour (6-7 minutes).

5. Add in the cooked tomatoes and 3-4 table spoons of Shan Karahi Masala (start slow – you can always build this up if you like it spicier).

Stir fry until the gravy has thickened and oil has risen to the surface (approximately 15 minutes on my stove). By this point your chicken should be tender and juicy too.

6. Garnish with cilantro and julienne chopped ginger. Serve hot with fresh naan or roti.

Note: Of course, feel free to modify this recipe to your own taste. You can follow the instructions on the back of the box too if you find that easier. This is just how I like to make mine! More tomatoes = more gravy. More green chillies = more spicy. More masala = richer flavour.

I used boneless chicken here because it’s easier to eat it with a fork/spoon that way (since naan and roti don’t work with the low carb diet phase my husband is going through). But bone-in turns out way better. Trust me on this one – if you have both kinds of chicken available, use the one with the bone.

I can also do another post later on how to make life even easier by using the Instant Pot to make Karahi. This machine has been a huge blessing for me when I’ve been working full time while pregnant.

I’ll go over how I make beef karahi another day too – I don’t like using Shan’s Karahi mix for beef. I prefer National’s Karahi Gosht masala for that. I think it gives the meat a much stronger and richer flavour which works much better with the natural texture of beef. You can try out both brands and let me know what you prefer!