Chicken Karahi or Chicken Kadai is a spicy, homestyle chicken curry with fragrant spices and fresh ginger. Here is an EASY recipe that explains how to make this flavor-packed and authentic-tasting chicken curry in just a few simple steps using Instant Pot or a skillet.
Note: Original post published in Oct 2018 has been updated with new photos and a video.
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What is Karahi
Karahi also known as Kadai/Kadhai is a thick, circular, metal cooking pot, similar to a wok. It is used in Indian cooking for curries, sautéing vegetables, and especially deep frying.
Chicken Karahi is a popular North Indian and Pakistani curry, and you can find it on most restaurant menus. Often, the roadside dhaba's will have this spicy, homestyle curry on the menu which is often enjoyed with hot naan or roti right from the tandoor.
Why Should you make Chicken Karahi in the Instant Pot
This past summer, I taught young college students how to cook traditional Indian dishes with the Instant Pot. When I got a request for Chicken Karahi, I decided to try my stovetop recipe in the Instant Pot. The result was:
- a practical and easy curry, that my students could make and enjoy in under 30-minutes
- hands-free recipe compared to the original traditional stovetop recipe
- perfectly cooked chicken every time
- And best of all, authentic and hearty-tasting curry
Ingredients
- Chicken - Boneless chicken thighs work best for this recipe. You may use chicken breasts instead with the same pressure cooking time and allow full natural pressure release. If you decide to use bone-in chicken or chicken drumsticks increase the pressure cooking time to 8 minutes followed by natural pressure release.
- Spices - Garam Masala - I highly recommend my homemade garam masala, Kashmiri red chili powder that adds vibrant red color to the curry without adding too much heat, ground cumin and coriander add earthy tones and body to the curry while turmeric adds a peppery-woody taste and deep golden color to the curry.
- Ginger - Finely diced ginger adds a perfect zing and a lot of flavors to this dish. It is also used to garnish the dish along with cilantro.
- Tomatoes - I use Pomi chopped tomatoes in this recipe. Not only do they taste just like fresh tomatoes, but they are super convenient and add a vibrant red hue to the curry. Especially when fresh tomatoes are not in season, I like to stock up on these tomatoes that come in BPA-free cartons. Once you open the carton, you can store them for up to 5 days in the fridge.
How to Cook Chicken Karahi
- Turn the Instant Pot to Sauté mode and heat oil. Next, add onions, ginger, and garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the onions turn translucent. Use a glass lid to speed up the process. Add the chicken, tomatoes, and spices and stir well. Close the Instant Pot lid with the pressure valve to sealing and pressure Cook for 5 minutes. (photos 1 - 4)
- Allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes. Then release all remaining pressure. Open the Instant Pot lid and give a quick stir. Set to Sauté mode and cook for 5 minutes as the curry thickens. Garnish with cilantro and ginger (photos 5 - 6)
Serving
Serve chicken karahi with Roti, Parathas, or Naan and Raita. For a gluten-free meal serve with Jeera Rice, Basmati Rice, or Brown Rice. Serve with cauliflower rice for a low-carb ketogenic meal.
Tips and substitutions
- Kashmiri red chili powder can be substituted with any mild chili powder or paprika
- Make sure to dice the ginger very small
- To make the curry less spicy, half the red chili powder, garam masala, and ginger
- If you enjoy spicy curry, you can add a sliced jalapeño along with the onions
- Add 1-inch cubes of sweet onion, red and green peppers to the curry after it is pressure cooked. Cook on saute mode for 5 to 7 minutes as the peppers get slightly cooked and still have a nice bite to them
Stove Top Chicken Karahi
- Heat oil in a medium wok or a skillet. Then, add onions, ginger, and garlic, and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes on medium-high heat until the onions turn translucent. Use a glass lid to speed up the process.
- Add the chicken, tomatoes, and all the spices, and stir well.
- Cover the pot with a lid and lower the heat to medium. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked stirring frequently. Add a few tablespoons of water as needed if the curry starts to stick to the pot.
- Garnish with cilantro and ginger.
I often serve a cooling yogurt drink called "Mattha" in India with this spicy chicken curry. Lots of people asked for the recipe and here it is:
- 1 cup of plain yogurt
- 3 cups cold water
- 1-inch ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 green chili or ½ jalapeño
- ¼ cup cilantro
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions: Blend all the ingredients in a blender and enjoy chilled.
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Recipe
Chicken Karahi
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 yellow onion finely diced
- ¼ cup ginger finely diced
- 2 tablespoons garlic minced
- 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs patted dry and cut into 4 pieces each
- 1½ cups canned diced tomatoes **
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
Garnish:
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup ginger julienned
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot to Sauté mode and heat oil. Add onions, ginger, and garlic, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the onions turn translucent. Use a glass lid to speed up the process. Tip: Make sure the bottom of the pot has no browning after sautéing the onions. If you see any browning, press Cancel on the Instant Pot and add 2 tablespoons of water and deglaze the bottom of the pot with a wooden or silicone spatula to remove all of the brownings.
- Add the chicken, tomatoes, ground cumin, ground coriander, garam masala, Kashmiri red chili powder, ground turmeric, and salt. Stir well.
- Close the Instant Pot lid on with the pressure valve to sealing. Pressure Cook (Hi) for 5 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes and then release all remaining pressure by turning the pressure release valve from sealing to venting.
- Open the Instant Pot and set it to Sauté mode. Cook the chicken for 5 minutes as the curry continues to thicken. Garnish with cilantro and ginger.
- Serve hot with naan or parathas and rice. For a low carb meal, serve mushroom masala over cauliflower rice. Add a side of cucumber salad for a delicious meal.
Video
Notes
- Boxed or canned diced tomatoes can be substituted with 4 ripe plum or roma tomatoes.
- Substitute Kashmiri red chili powder with any mild chili powder
- Make sure to dice the ginger very small so you do get big pieces of ginger in the curry
- To reduce the spice in this curry, reduce the quantity of red chili powder, garam masala, and ginger by half
- To make the curry more spicy and hot, add a sliced jalapeño along with the onions
- You can either use fresh tomatoes or box/canned chopped tomatoes in this recipe
- Make sure the bottom of the pot has no browning after sautéing the onions. If you see any browning, press Cancel on the Instant Pot and add 2 tablespoons of water and deglaze the bottom of the pot with a wooden or silicone spatula to remove all of the brownings.
- Heat oil in a large wok or skillet. Then, add onions, ginger, and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes on medium-high heat until the onions turn translucent. Use a glass lid to speed up the process.
- Add the chicken, tomatoes, all the spices and stir well.
- Cover the pot with a lid and lower the heat to medium. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked stirring frequently. Add a few tablespoons of water as needed if the curry starts to stick to the pot.
- Garnish with cilantro and ginger.
Nutrition
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Hans Dieter Susser says
And then there is "Karachi Butter Chicken" 🙂
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https://chefsopinion.org/2015/03/05/pakistani-butter-chicken/
Archana says
Absolutely!
Asim Fareeduddin says
Can you use bone-in chicken for this? Maybe leg quarters or whole chicken? If so, how would you adjust the cooking time in IP?
Archana says
Hi Asim, Yes you can. Depending on the size of the chicken pieces I would add extra 2 to 3 minutes. For example if I cooked this with let quarters I would cook for 8 minutes.
Charlene says
Yum i made this tonight and it turned out delicious! I ended up using chicken breast tenders.. it was very spicy but next time will cut down a bit on the spice like you mentioned in the post. Will definitely be making often!! Thanks!!
Archana says
Thank you for the feedback. Please rate the recipe too 🙂
Tanzila Sajid says
Thank you for the recipe. It looks amazing.
What is the size of your instapot?
Archana says
Thank you! I cooked this recipe in my 6-QT
Ayesha says
Hi Archana,
Would the cooking time differ ( in all recipes) if a larger instant pot is used ? 8-QT
Archana says
Same cook time in 8 QT too.
FARIDA BANU says
Looks delicious. The step by step process is clear and super recipe.
Archana says
Thank you!
Archana says
Hi! Do you mean 1/4 cup ginger before dicing or after dicing? I generally grate my ginger in the micro plane to get small pieces - so how much of that? 1-2 tablespoons? Thanks!!
Archana says
1/4 after dicing. Yes you can add 2 tablespoons of grated
Yamini says
Great recipe, just made it last night for the family and they loved it. "Homestyle" is the right word - tastes like what my mom makes! So simple with the Instapot, as usual I have to remember to double your recipes because I never get to enjoy leftovers!
Archana says
Thanks for the feedback!
Aine says
Hi/ can we use beef to make a beef karahi? How would that change the total cook time in the IP? Bought your book btw! Thank you!
banazer noor says
your recipes are awesome I like all recipe and try at home.
Archana says
Thank you SO much! Do rate them when you get a chance.
banazer noor says
GOOD RECIPES WEBSITE I LOVE IT WELL DONE.
Alex says
Can I whole chicken cut into small or medium pieces and how to adjust time in instant pot
Archana says
Yes you can. I would increase the pressure cook time to 8 mins.
Khadija says
My husband said this was the best dish I've ever made in the 5 years we've been married! It was delicious, thank you!
Archana says
Thank you so much for that feedback !!
Chris says
This recipe is amazing. It is very easy to make, and it comes out restaurant quality every time.
Archana says
Thank you!!
James Strange says
When I worked in Pakistan this was one of my favorite dishes to eat. Your version looks easy and delicious.
Archana says
Thank you so much!
Purvi says
Hi if we use fresh diced tomatoes, will the recipe come out just as good?
Archana says
Yes! You can use fresh tomatoes
Jennifer says
The entire family loved it. I did mix in chicken breasts also. Next time I will take them out prior to the saute because they were slightly dry. Thighs were perfect. I did add a touch of cornstarch because the sauce didn't thicken quite enough at the end. SUPER EASY and QUICK.
Archana says
Thank you for the feedback! I am so glad you enjoyed it
Kim says
Absolutely delicious! I will also make sure to not use breast meat. Chicken supplies have become a little unreliable at the grocery!
Mohit says
Thanks for the recipe. Going to try this, this weekend. Since i'm on a diet I was wondering if I need to alter anything described here if I was using chicken breast + limited oil to 0.5tsp per 4oz of chicken? Thanks
Archana says
It will work great, follow the same cook times and allow 10 minutes natural pressure release. This will make sure the chicken breasts are tender and not dry.
Sai Pradyumna says
Do you need to add any water before the pressure cooking step? Considering that this recipe doesn't use a marinate, won't a lack of liquid lead to a BURN message?
Archana says
Make sure that no food is sticking to the bottom of the pot. Then when the Instant Pot starts to cook the chicken it releases enough water to build the pressure.
Sai Pradyumna says
Thanks for the advice. It came out really well.
Ruby says
How much time for the chicken tenders?
Archana says
4 minutes pressure cooking will be perfect.
Saralyn says
This was delicious!