Chicken Curry- Dhaba Style

Oh this divine chicken curry is spicy, hot, aromatic made with ground spices, onions, tomatoes along with few more ingredients are just perfect for lunch or dinner & taste good with chapati, paratha, steamed or zeera(cumin) rice.

This type of curry is usually served at Dhaba’s in Northern region of India. Dhaba’s are usually roadside restaurants scattered all over the highways. Food is usually reasonable at these dhabas and taste is awesome. Though there are limited options on the menu but no compromise on the taste.

I was trying to replicate this curry for a long time with respect to taste & color but with this recipe came pretty close to what we get at Dhaba’s. This curry is slightly time-consuming but trust me it’s worth the efforts 😉. So let’s get started .

Cuisine: Indian, North-Indian

Recipe Type: Main Course

Author: Rateka

Prep Time: 20 Mins + 30 Mins for marination

Cook Time: 45-50 Mins

Serves: 2-3

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken: 1/2 kg (skinless, cleaned medium-sized pieces & drumstick )

For Marination:

Ginger-Garlic Paste: 1 tbsp
Lemon Juice: 1 tbsp
Salt: 1 tbsp

For Curry:

Onions: 2 medium-sized ( 1 onion purée, 1 onion finely chopped)
Tomatoes: 1 big, purée
Garlic Cloves: 4-5
Ginger: 1 inch
Green Chili: 2-3
Cumin Seeds: 2 tsp
Bay Leaves: 1-2
Cinnamon Stick: 1/2
Green Cardamom: 2
Black Cardamom: 1
Peppercorn: 5-6
Cloves: 2-3
Turmeric Powder: 1/2 tsp
Red Chili Powder: 1 tsp or as per taste
Coriander Powder: 2 tbsp
Garam Masala Powder: 1 tbsp
Cooking Oil: 3 tbsp ( I have used mustard oil)
Salt to taste

For Tempering/Tadka:

Ghee/Clarified Butter: 1 tbsp
Green Chili: 2, slit into halves
Ginger: 1/2 inch piece, Julienne
Coriander/Cilantro leaves: Freshly chopped to garnish

METHOD:

Marinate the cleaned chicken pieces and drumstick with ingredients mentioned under “For Marination”. Mix well and keep aside for 30 mins.
Grind onion, ginger, garlic, green chili to a smooth paste and keep aside.
In a kadhai/heavy deep bottomed pan, add oil & let it heat. In the meanwhile, using mortal & pastel roughly pound all the whole spices (cinnamon, cardamom, peppercorn, cloves, green & black cardamom).
Once oil is hot, add cumin seeds, bay leaf & roughly pounded whole spices & let them splutter. Then add finely chopped onion and sauté till slightly golden in color. Now add onion paste which we prepared in step 2, mix well & let it cook on low flame till the paste has golden-brown in color. Keep stirring occasionally.
Add tomato purée, salt, turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, mix well & cook till the paste start oozing oil to the surface.
Add the marinated chicken, garam masala powder, mix well, cover the pan and cook for 5-10 mins, Keep stirring occasionally.
Add 1/2 cup water, mix well and bring the curry to a boil on high flame. Once a boil comes, reduce the heat to medium flame. Check on seasonings, add if required. Cover the pan & let it cook for another 20-25 mins. Keep stirring occasionally & check on chicken pieces with sharp knife whether cooked or not.
Once chicken is cooked properly uncover the pan & cook for another 15-20 mins till the water evaporated & curry starts to thicken.
Once the curry is ready as per the desired consistency, turn off the flame.
In a tadka pan, heat ghee, once hot add green chili & ginger julienne. Once it starts to splutter & becomes slightly crisp, switch off the flame & pour this tadka on the curry. Mix well. Top it with chopped cilantro & cover the curry for another 10-15 mins before serving. This helps in absorbing all the flavors into the chicken & curry.
Serve hot with chapati or rice & enjoy this curry with your loved ones 😊.