Kalya/Murghi ka Salan or Pakistani Chicken Curry
A curry that gets its deep but light flavours from caramelized onions and mild spices
- Prep time
- 14 min
- Cook time
- 31 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 Pound Chicken Breast Meat cut into 2 inch pieces
- ½ cup oil
- 1 large or 2 medium onions
- 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 heaped tbsp garlic or 5 minced cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 ½ tsp coriander powder
- ½ to 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
- 4-5 Whole green chillies (optional)
- 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
Instructions
- 1
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pot
- 2
Add the cumin seeds and whole black pepper
- 3
When the cumin seeds start to sizzle then add the onions
- 4
Cook on medium heat stirring occasionally until the onions are mostly a rich brown
- 5
Now add the garlic paste, saute for a minute then add the red chili powder, turmeric, coriander powder and salt.
- 6
If at any time during the process the spices or onions start to burn add a splash of hot water.
- 7
Cook stirring frequently for about a minute then add the chicken pieces, stirring them at regular intervals until the look cooked/white from all sides.
- 8
Pour 1.5-2 cups of hot water into the pot, bring to a boil and then simmer covered for 30 minutes. The chicken should be nice and tender.
- 9
Increase the heat and dry up the masala, as you do so the onions will break down and form a beautiful cohesive paste. You can skip this step if you're pressed for time and simply adjust the consistency of the curry to your liking.
- 10
Once the masalas become a paste and the oil rises to the top (bhunn) then add hot water as per your preference along with the green chilies and bring the mixture to a boil.
- 11
Turn the heat off, add the garam masala, adjust the seasoning, top with cilantro and serve.