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Ruchik Randhap

Food & Memories of Mangalore

Peshawar Style Chicken Curry

Today is one of those Sundays that hasn’t been particularly fantastic. Or relaxing. Or interesting. Or worthwhile. Apart from some great news that came in the morning – my nephew and his wife welcomed their first baby into the world today (which now officially makes me a grandma), nothing much happened. So I won’t bore you with mundane stories of how my day rolled by. I greatly believe in jinxes – this recipe may well be shelved if I don’t post it right away. Not only has it been sitting in my drafts for ages, the editing of the second picture has happened 5 times over a period of 1 week and each time my work didn’t get saved for some reason or the other. So before I ruin it one more time – here’s today’s recipe.
I have never been to Peshawar nor have I tasted this dish anywhere, so I cannot vouch for its authenticity.
A simple and yummy curry to accompany your rotis – I am sure you will enjoy it as it is pretty simple to make. Found the recipe on a little book with easy Indian recipes – unfortunately I can’t recollect the name of the book. The original recipe calls for mutton, I simply tried my luck with chicken and it was great. I’ll provide the credits asap. Till then, go make it & tell me how you liked it!

 

Peshawar Style Chicken Curry
Prep time: 15mins | Cook time: 25 mins | Servings 4

You Need

  • 1 kg chicken
  • 4 cardamom pods bruised
  • 4 cloves
  • 1″ stick of cassia bark or cinnamon
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 large onion finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons ginger paste
  • 2 teaspoons garlic paste
  • 1 tablespoon tomato puree *see notes
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1 teaspoon red chilli powder (adjust to taste) * see notes
  • 1/2 cup thick curds (yogurt)
  • 2 teaspoons gram flour /chickpea flour (besan) (substitute with cornflour/cornstarch)
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • 1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves chopped
  • 2 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves chopped
  • 3 tablespoons ghee or oil
  • salt to taste

Method
1. Cut the chicken into medium sized pieces, wash and allow to drain on a colander.
2. Heat the ghee or oil in a large heavy based or wide non stick pan and toss in the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and bay leaves and let them sizzle over a low heat. Add in the chicken and let it fry for about 2-3 minutes or until both the sides are lightly browned. Take care to see that the pieces don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
3. Add the chopped onions, ginger & garlic paste, salt to taste, mix well and allow to cook on a medium flame for about 5-6 minutes. Add the tomato puree, turmeric, coriander & cumin powders and cook for another 4-5 minutes.
4. In a small bowl whisk together the curds, chilli powder and gram flour into a lump free smooth mixture and add this to the chicken. Add the water, cover the pan and simmer for about 10-12 minutes, stirring in between. Check salt and adjust if required and cook till the chicken is done.
5. Garnish with chopped mint & coriander leaves (add this to the chicken half a minute before you remove it from the fire). Serve hot with rice or chapathis or any Indian bread.


Notes:
1. If you are using very sour curds, skip the tomato puree. You may use store bought tomato puree which is thicker than fresh homemade puree.
2. For a less spicy curry you may use 1/2 teaspoon of red chilli powder – if you are using the spicy variety, otherwise 1 teaspoon of kashmiri chilli powder is good to go.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  4. Hi Shireen,

    I asked my sister to try this chicken last Sunday and it came out perfect. And it is so simple to make. She just added some more tablespoons of tomato puree and skipped mint and coriander and instead added Kasoori methi. It was just yummy !!

    Thanks for the recipe…

    Doreen

    Reply

    • Hi Doreen,

      Wow! glad to know that your sister enjoyed this preparation! Kasoori methi is an awesome substitute! The stuff it can do to a dish is mind blowing, isn't it? My fav too 🙂 Thanks for your feedback!

      Rgds
      Shireen

      Reply

  5. Hello Shireen,my name is Dipti Menezes from Dubai. Heard about your website from a lot of mangi ppl when we have get togethers. All of them have tried and recommended. So here I am trying the above recipe which turned out to be simply awesome,finger licking. Its so simple. Thank you for doing a splendid job and sharing your expertise.

    Reply

  6. Hello Shireen,my name is Dipti Menezes from Dubai. Heard about your website from a lot of mangi ppl when we have get togethers. All of them have tried and recommended. So here I am trying the above recipe which turned out to be simply awesome,finger licking. Its so simple. Thank you for doing a splendid job and sharing your expertise.

    Reply

    • Hi Dipti! Thanks so much for your feedback 🙂 So glad to know that my blog is so popular amongst your friends and it was recommended to you. Even more happy to know that this recipe turned out good 🙂 Thanks for writing & letting me know that and I hope you are able to try some more recipes and enjoy them too! Take care!

      Reply

  8. Hi Shireen,
    Amazing collection, tried this one and have now resolved to try one of ur recipes every sunday! so good, i just substituted the tomato puree with tomato ketchup and hot chili sauce for the extra zing, came out amazing!
    Thanks and keep up the good work!

    Reply

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