Follow this recipe tutorial to learn How To Make Authentic Pakistani-Style Chicken Karahi in 30 minutes. Cooked on the stovetop, this tomato-based curry features bone-in chicken quarters, homemade Karahi Masala, and warming spices—all without using yogurt. Packed with bold flavors, it’s perfect when served with chapati or naan.
How To Make Authentic Pakistani-Style Chicken Karahi is a popular question. Well, Chicken Karahi is an extremely popular Pakistani chicken recipe. When people suddenly show up at my house and I’m like, uhh what do I even cook?—I just make this recipe or my Butter Chicken. Boom, problem solved. Works every time!
My dad always says he makes the best Chicken Karahi. I’ll admit, his is really good—but I think mine is better because I use my special homemade Karahi Masala. We always joke and argue about whose version is the best. Karahi is kind of like an art, and not everyone can make it just right. But with my recipe, you’ll be one of the few who can!
I have tried numerous Chicken Karahi recipes at Pakistani and Indian restaurants but they don't even come close to this version.
INGREDIENTS
- Chicken- Honestly, I think chicken quarters work best for this recipe. Chicken breast usually ends up too dry, but chicken thighs are a solid choice too.
- Homemade Karahi Masala- Just few whole spices and powder spices makes a great Karahi Masala.
- Tomatoes- Adding too many fresh tomatoes can make the recipe too watery and dilute the flavors, so using just four fresh tomatoes and relying on the tomato paste to bring in more tomato flavor is a good strategy.
- Chicken Bouillon Cube- Adding a chicken bouillon cube is a great way to boost the savory flavor of your karahi.
Katie E.
My husband loves this recipe! I have made it at least 3 times and we’re having it for dinner again tonight. It comes out great every time. [...] Looks fantastic, and can’t wait to eat it again.
HOW TO COOK CHICKEN KARAHI ?
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Let's Make Chicken Karahi!!!
How To Make Authentic Pakistani-Style Chicken Karahi
Ingredients
Karahi
- 2 lbs chicken with bone
- homemade karahi masala click the link to get the Karahi masala recipe
- ⅓ cup olive oil extra virgin
- 3 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- ½ medium onion finely chopped
- 2 serrano peppers slit
- 4 tomatoes chopped
- 1 tbsp tomatoes paste
- ½ bunch cilantro roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup water
- 1 chicken stock cube Maggie chicken flavored bouillon
Whole Spices
- 2 green cardamom pods
- 1 black cardamom
- 1 cinnamon stick
Powdered Spices
- ½ tsp kosher salt or as needed
- a pinch garam masala powder
- 2 tsp coriander powder
Garnish
- cilantro finely chopped (for garnish)
- ginger (julienne) for garnish
Instructions
Karahi
- In a wok, on medium heat, add oil, and add in the slit seranno peppers, black cardamom, green cardamon pods, and cinnamon stick. Keep stirring as it sizzles for one minute.
- Next add the onion, sauté it until they get translucent (make sure they don't turn brown).
- Add ginger garlic paste and mix it for 30 seconds.
- Next add chicken and 3 tsp Homemade Karahi Masala, coriander powder, and Garam Masala powder and mix well for 2-4 minutes.
- Once the chicken is no longer pink (That's like 25% cooked).
- Add finely chopped tomatoes, and mix well.
- Cook it on medium heat for 7-10 minutes stirring occasionally until tomatoes are all infused. well with the chicken and the oil separates.
- Add 1 tbsp tomato paste, 3 tbsp homemade karahi masala, ½ tsp salt, 1 tbsp lemon juice, ¼ cup water, cilantro and chicken cube. Mix everything well.
- Now turn the stove on medium-low heat.
- Let it cook for 5-7 minutes.
- Cook it open it on low heat for 5 minutes.
- Mix it well.
- Garnish with ginger and cilantro.
- Squeeze fresh lemon on top.
- Serve it hot with naan.
Mahvish Shah says
I am a foodie person had many karahis in my life but this is a must try very easy steps doesn't take long and a authentic desi karahi very delicious chicken is tender enough the gravy and sauce is right amount not too dry
Sarah Mirza says
so glad to hear that. <3
Katie E says
This looks great! I’m going to try making it tonight, but one quick question: I understand the chicken is with the bone, but is it skinned? Or do you leave the skin on? I am inclined to skin the chicken before cooking…
Sarah Mirza says
without skin. I can’t wait would love your feedback after you try it. Please feel free to message me if you have any questions.
Katie E says
My husband loves this recipe! I have made it at least 3 times and we’re having it for dinner again tonight. It comes out great every time. The first couple of times I made it, it was a little dry, but I think that’s because I don’t have a karahi or wok, so the oil was all spread out in a larger pan and didn’t cook the whole spice masala the same way it should have. Tonight, I used a smaller saucier to start with the oil, Serrano pepper, and whole spices, and then transferred it to the larger pot for the rest of the recipe. I think it made all the difference! Looks fantastic, and can’t wait to eat it!
Sarah Mirza says
Omg! Sooo glad that you love this recipe! Thank you so much for this awesome review! 😍😍😍
Sephora Hassan says
Always thought couldn't ever make the perfect karahi at home, THIS recipe changed it all
Sarah Mirza says
aww thank you so much 🙂
asif jamal says
My wife made karahi with this recipe and I loved it 😍. She used to make very good karahi.last week she made karahi with this recipe and that was the best karahi she ever made.. really delicious.. I think no one can make better karahi than this..
Sarah Mirza says
Thank you so much :*
Cass city says
The best I’ve ever had, words cannot describe how good this is, my mom made this last week but I still want it in my mouth. Just looking at the pictures makes my mouth water hehe☺️ We’ve been trying to find a good recipe for months and almost lost hope until my mother came across this page! All your recipes are helpful and easy to understand; it always ends up as spectacular dinner!! This one is my personal favorite❤️👌 If anyone is reading this, you guys HAVE to check out all their recipes because they are literal life savers.
Sarah Mirza says
OMG!!! OMG!!! Thank you so much that means the world! We are speechless! <3
Wazhma Awan says
Hi,
Can you confirm whether it’s 5 TABLEspoon or 5 TEAspoon ginger garlic paste for 500g (1 lb) chicken ?
Because 5 Tablespoon seems a lot ?
Looking forward to a prompt response 😊
Sarah Mirza says
3 tbsp that was a typo, I just fixed it.
Faiza says
Hello, Ms. Sarah Mirza, thank you for sharing this recipe! I would like to make homemade chicken karahi using this recipe, but I would like to have some extra sauce (salaan) for 1 pound of chicken, my daughter likes to scoop up extra sauce with chicken pieces with her naan bread when we have karahi at restaurants. Unfortunately no one will give away their trade secrets, so can I please ask you what changes would one make to your recipe to create extra sauce but still have the depth of flavor of the karahi? I’m guessing to add extra onions and tomatoes but how much more whole and ground spices should one add to flavor the dish? Thank you in advance for your advice and help! 😊
Sarah Mirza says
hi, thank you for stopping by our site. We don't keep any secrets we give our recipes how we make it at home
so don't worry about that.
so ya don't increase the onion in your karahi or will be on a sweeter side.
just increase the tomatoes like the recipe calls for 3 you can add 4-5
and add 4 tsp of homemade karahi masala instead of 3 tsp homemade karahi masala or please adjust according to your taste if needed more.
if you any further questions. please feel free to ask.
good luck can't wait for your feedback.
Faiza says
Hello again, and thank you for your quick reply! I couldn’t wait to try out your recipe with the suggestions you provided, so I made the Karahi with whatever chicken I had available at home (I had boneless, skinless chicken thighs), and I cooked your recipe verbatim since I couldn’t taste the food until after breaking my fast for Ramadan; I also made the Karahi masala powder and your version of garam masala powder to stay true and to get the authentic taste of Karahi…
WOW! I loved it! Husband loved it too, and daughter had the extra sauce (salaan) I was looking for! Thank you, I will make this again with some bone-in chicken like you did in your video… may God bless you and your family!!!
Sarah Mirza says
Thank you so much your feedback means a lot! <3 <3 <3
truly thank you for the review.