Chicken Karahi

During my life in Pakistan, as an undergrad student, I was kept under the watchful eye of my oldest sister, who was a medical student ( yes I have a doctor for each of my limbs, including a PhD one) . One of our favourite places to eat was this restaurant called Usmania in Karachi where they served this delicious chicken karahi.
Its a chicken curry with loads of oil! For years I have been hunting for an easy recipe and original one until   Haffa Bexi posted this on her blog.  The amount of oil used would probably send my cholesterol level skyrocketing!! I mean 1 cup of oil!! for just 500g of chicken!!!. So I reduced the amount of oil to 1/3 cup but even then my hubby commented about the oil floating on top,  but didn't complain much once he started eating... .  Went down well with store-bought Naan. For the boys, I made the same thing without the chillies and the chilli powder.  I  found a bottle of dried fenugreek leaves but leave it out if you can find any.

dried fenugreek  ( available at  Agora)

 Recipe:  Chicken Karahi recipe adapted  from Haffa's Chicken Karahi recipe.

Serves 3-4 persons

500g -600g of chicken curry cut or cut the chicken into small pieces not jointed. ( curry cut prepared chicken is now available in most big supermarkets in Male' City, but don't use boneless.
1/3 cup corn or sunflower oil or any other vegetable oil.
4 cloves garlic
1" piece ginger, remove 1 thin slice from it and grate the rest
1/2 cup plain yogurt( preferably greek yogurt)
250 g tomatoes
2-3 green chillies
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves ( optional)
salt about 1 tsp
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp turmeric
about 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves

Place your tomatoes in the blender and blend with a few tablespoons of water, just enough to get the blades going and puree it.

Make a paste of the ginger, garlic and chillies with a 2-3 tablespoons of water.

Heat oil in a wok or large pan , yes the whole 1/3 cup.  Add the chicken and fry till lightly golden on the outside.  Lower the heat.

Add in the ginger, garlic and chilli paste,  chilli powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric and pepper. Stir well to coat.  Cook for 1-2 minutes to cook up the spices. Don't be tempted to add water if it catches at the bottom just add about 2 tablespoons.

Now stir in tomatoes, fenugreek leaves ( if using) and yoghurt.  Stir well.  Cover and cook till the chicken is cooked through ( about 20 minutes), the sauce is thickened and the oil has started to float on top. If it looks too watery, remove the lid and cook for a further 5-10  minutes.  Taste and add salt.

 Finely slice the ginger slice to little shreds. Stir in coriander leaves and the shredded ginger slice.

Enjoy with Naan , or any kind of bread or flat bread.

Ps. Do check  Haffa's space , and check out  some of the lovely recipes in her blog :)