Irani Chicken Kadhai: A Lunch Recipe For Chicken Lovers
Image Credit: Cook With Faiza

Persian food has always been associated with fragrant pilafs and juicy kebabs, eaten with the many breads the cuisine has to offer. Like most other cuisines that have their own variations of a stir-fried meat or vegetable dish, one of the stand-out dishes from Persian fare is the Iranian chicken kadhai. The idea of a kadhai chicken in the Indian context has always stood for a quick toss through of the meat along with a mix of spicy, tangy and savoury flavours. Most kadhai chicken recipes come with a fiery sauce, best sopped up with freshly baked pao or a hot-off-the-pan roti.

That said, the Irani chicken kadhai, although mild in heat, packs equal amounts of flavour and is relatively easy to throw together. For a recipe such as this one, it is imperative that the chicken is seared well on all sides since there is going to be an absence of cooking liquid or stock to complete the process of cooking. You could choose to marinate your chicken for 20 minutes if you manage to spare time, or simply cook with it as is. More importantly, since this is a quick recipe, buying chicken that is extremely tender will ensure that the meat is cooked through but juicy as it is prepared using high temperatures.

Recipe:

 

Ingredients

  • 500 grams bone-in chicken pieces
  • ¼ cup oil
  • 4 tablespoons butter/ghee
  • 2 small onions, thinly sliced
  • 3 green chillies, thinly sliced
  • 2 tomatoes, sliced
  • 2 teaspoons red chilli flakes
  • 1 tablespoon ginger paste
  • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
  • 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
  • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
  • 2 tablespoons fresh cream
  • 1 tablespoon fresh coriander, chopped
  • Salt to taste

Method

Image Credits: Kayhan Life

  • Heat the oil and ghee in a wok/kadhai and bring up to smoking point. Add a few pieces of washed and dried chicken to the oil and fry until it is seared brown on all sides. Make sure to not overcrowd the pan as you want the chicken to fry, and not braise.
  • Add all the seared chicken back into the oil, followed by the green chillies, sliced onions and tomatoes. Toss everything together on a medium-high heat and allow the flavours to blend together as it cooks.
  • Meanwhile, crush the cumin seeds, black peppercorns and coriander seeds using a mortar and pestle, until it turns into a fine powder. Add the red chilli flakes and ginger paste to the chicken along with all of the spice powder and ensure that it coats the chicken thoroughly.
  • Season with salt and cover the pan with a lid. Allow the chicken to cook in its own juices for 15 minutes. Take the lid off of the pan and add the cream. Mix well and allow the sauce to thicken lightly and coat the chicken, similar to a glaze.
  • Take the pan off heat and garnished with plenty of chopped coriander. Eat with any freshly baked breads of your choice or hot rumali rotis.