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Pakistani · Halal-checked · 40 minutes

Chicken karahi recipe

Scale it to your table, with every ingredient halal-checked, the oil in grams and the calories as a range.

11 of 11 ingredients halal485–590 kcal per serving60 g oil for 4
Scale it for your tableOpen in Nivala: coming soon
Chicken karahi in a karahi pan, an AI-generated illustration

Key takeaway

Chicken karahi is a Pakistani curry of bone-in chicken fried hard, then cooked down with tomatoes, ginger, garlic and green chillies until the oil separates. This version serves 4, takes 40 minutes and uses 60 g of oil in the pot. All 11 ingredients pass Nivala's halal check, and one serving works out at 485–590 kcal.

The dish

What is chicken karahi?

Chicken karahi is a Pakistani curry cooked in a karahi, a deep wok-shaped pan. Bone-in chicken is fried hard, then cooked down with tomatoes, ginger, garlic and green chillies until the oil separates from the sauce. This recipe uses no onion and adds no water, so the tomatoes make the gravy.

40minutes
4servings
4/5spice
11ingredients
Chicken karahi, an AI-generated illustration

Ingredients, scaled to you

Chicken karahi ingredients for 4 people

For 4 people you need 800 g bone-in chicken, 5 medium tomatoes and 4 tablespoons of oil (60 g), plus ginger, garlic, green chillies, three spices, salt and fresh coriander. Use the stepper to scale every amount from 1 to 12 servings.

How many people?
4people
800 gChicken, bone-in, curry cut
5Medium tomatoes
4 tbspOil · 60 g
1 inchGinger, julienned
5Garlic cloves
4Green chillies
1 tspRed chilli powder
1 tspCoriander powder
1½ tspSalt
1Handfuls of fresh coriander
½ tspGaram masala

Oil in the pot

60 g

Always about 15 g per serving. Most recipe sites don't say.

Per serving

485–590

kcal. Scaling the recipe doesn't change this range.

Multiply by

×1

Every amount above is the 4-serving recipe times this number, then rounded to something you can measure.

Method

How do you make chicken karahi?

Fry the chicken hard in shimmering oil for 6–8 minutes. Add garlic and half the ginger for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt, chilli and coriander powder, cover and cook 15 minutes. Cook off the water until the oil separates, then finish with green chillies, ginger, garam masala and coriander.

  1. Step 1 of 56–8 min

    Fry hard

    Heat the oil until it shimmers. Add the chicken and fry hard for 6–8 minutes until it colours.

    Look for: colour on the chicken

    In the pan
    • Oil · 60 g4 tbsp · for 4 people
    • Chicken, bone-in, curry cut800 g · for 4 people
    AI-generated image of the karahi at the end of step 1: Chicken browned in shimmering oil in the karahi.End of step 1
    End of step 1: Chicken browned in shimmering oil in the karahi.
  2. Step 2 of 52 min

    Aromatics

    Add garlic and half the ginger. Cook 2 minutes.

    Look for: raw smell gone

    In the pan
    • Garlic cloves5 · for 4 people
    • Ginger, julienned1 inch · for 4 peopleUse half of it now
    AI-generated image of the karahi at the end of step 2: Garlic and ginger fragrant in the pan with the chicken.End of step 2
    End of step 2: Garlic and ginger fragrant in the pan with the chicken.
  3. Step 3 of 515 min

    Tomatoes

    Add tomatoes, salt, chilli and coriander powder. Cover and cook 15 minutes until the tomatoes collapse.

    Look for: tomatoes collapsed

    In the pan
    • Medium tomatoes5 · for 4 people
    • Salt1½ tsp · for 4 people
    • Red chilli powder1 tsp · for 4 people
    • Coriander powder1 tsp · for 4 people
    AI-generated image of the karahi at the end of step 3: Tomatoes collapsed around the chicken, with the spices stirred in.End of step 3
    End of step 3: Tomatoes collapsed around the chicken, with the spices stirred in.
  4. Step 4 of 5Until done

    Reduce

    Uncover and cook off the water on high heat until the oil separates. This is the whole dish.

    Look for: oil separating from the sauce

    In the pan
    • Oil · 60 g4 tbsp · for 4 peopleAlready in the pan from step 1
    AI-generated image of the karahi at the end of step 4: Thick, reduced sauce with the oil separating at the edges.End of step 4
    End of step 4: Thick, reduced sauce with the oil separating at the edges.
  5. Step 5 of 5Last minute

    Finish

    Finish with green chillies, remaining ginger, garam masala and fresh coriander.

    Look for: fresh coriander on top

    In the pan
    • Green chillies4 · for 4 people
    • Ginger, julienned1 inch · for 4 peopleUse the other half
    • Garam masala½ tsp · for 4 people
    • Handfuls of fresh coriander1 · for 4 people
    AI-generated image of the karahi at the end of step 5: Finished karahi topped with green chillies, ginger and fresh coriander.End of step 5
    End of step 5: Finished karahi topped with green chillies, ginger and fresh coriander.

Halal check

Is chicken karahi halal?

Every ingredient in this recipe is halal in Nivala's ingredient table: all 11 checked, none doubtful. The one thing the table can't see is the chicken itself, which is halal only if it came from a halal source. Nivala applies rules to ingredients and does not certify food; your butcher does.

Rulings are rules applied to each ingredient, with a named source. A model never decides one. How it decides

11 / 11Halal, none doubtful
ChickenTomatoesOilGingerGarlicGreen chilliesRed chilli powderCoriander powderSaltFresh corianderGaram masala

Not shown: whether your chicken came from a halal source.

Calories and oil

How many calories are in chicken karahi?

One serving of this chicken karahi works out at 485–590 kcal. The recipe serves 4 and uses 60 g of oil in the pot, about 15 g per serving. The pot also holds 800 g of bone-in chicken and 5 medium tomatoes. Scaling the recipe up or down doesn't change the per-serving range.

Allergens are covered in the next section.

One serving

Chicken karahi485–590 kcal
300kcal per serving800
60 goil in the pot, for 4
15 goil per serving

Allergens

Does chicken karahi contain allergens?

Nivala lists no allergens for chicken karahi. None of its 11 ingredients falls into the ten groups Nivala tracks: peanut, tree nut, dairy, egg, gluten, shellfish, fish, soy, sesame and mustard. The recipe has no onion, no yoghurt and no water. A bought masala blend or a different oil can add one, so read the label.

PeanutNot listed
Tree nutNot listed
DairyNot listed
EggNot listed
GlutenNot listed
ShellfishNot listed
FishNot listed
SoyNot listed
SesameNot listed
MustardNot listed

The ten groups are Nivala's own list, not a legal one. Allergens come from the ingredient table, so a dish only shows an allergen when one of its ingredients carries it. Nivala applies the rules and does not certify food. If anyone at the table has a serious allergy, read your own labels.

Watch it cooked

Creator videos for chicken karahi

Up to three videos from creators who cooked this dish, each with their channel name and a link. A person reviews every one before it appears. Are you a creator?

Chicken karahi questions

How long does chicken karahi take?

40 minutes in Nivala's recipe, for 4 servings. About 23 to 25 of those are timed steps: 6–8 minutes frying, 2 minutes with garlic and ginger, and 15 covered with the tomatoes. The reduction at the end has no fixed time, because you cook until the oil separates from the sauce.

Can I make chicken karahi for 2 or for 8?

Yes. Set the number of people in the ingredients section and every amount scales in proportion, from 1 to 12 servings. Cook time stays at 40 minutes, because that is the recipe’s figure for 4.

Is chicken karahi spicy?

Spice is 4 out of 5 in Nivala’s data. The recipe uses 4 green chillies and 1 teaspoon of red chilli powder for 4 servings. Fewer green chillies lowers the heat, and they go in at the end, so you can taste before adding more.

Does chicken karahi have onions?

Not in this recipe: the ingredient list has no onion. The gravy comes from five tomatoes cooked until they collapse, then reduced until the oil separates. Garlic and ginger carry the base flavour, and green chillies, garam masala and fresh coriander go in at the end.

What can I do with leftover chicken karahi?

Strip the meat off the bones and use it in chicken fried rice. That leftover link comes from Nivala’s own dish data, where chicken karahi connects to chicken fried rice. The same karahi method also works with mutton instead of chicken, as a variation.

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