Kadai Chicken Dhaba Style

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Kadai Chicken Dhaba Style

Kadai Chicken Dhaba Style

Kadai Chicken Dhaba Style is spicy and flavourful. It is ubiquitous in almost every Indian restaurant menu. I bring you an easy step by step recipe that you can prepare easily at home. This Kadai Chicken Dhaba Style is finger-licking good and can be scooped up with bits of naan, roti or laccha paratha as I did.

What is Kadai?  It is just an Indian wok made of either iron, steel or aluminium. It mostly has two curved handles but is available without too. A Kadai is a basic cooking pan found in every Indian household.

Kadai Chicken Dhaba Style Recipe

The basic recipe is spicy but you can reduce or use paprika or Kashmiri Lal mirch instead of red chilli powder. What makes this recipe stand apart from other chicken recipes is the freshly ground Kadai Masala. Just dry roast the spices and coarsely grind them. Of course, you can use store-bought masala but the result would not be the same. There is something so fresh and so aromatic of the dry roasted and coarsely ground fresh home-made Kadai Masala that’s crucial for the original taste of this dish.

Karahi Masala:

If you are looking for the authentic flavours home-made Kadai Masala is the go-to secret. With this secret spice mix, you’ll make yourself a Chicken Karahi that can better the taste of any restaurant. I make it a point to grind it in my small mortar and pestle instead of making it into a smooth powder in the mixer.

Ingredients for Kadai Masala

2 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp black peppercorns

4 dried whole red chilli

2 black cardamoms

4 green cardamoms

8 cloves

1 cinnamon stick

2 anise flower

2 bay leaves

Kadai Masala
Kadai Masala

Method

Heat a griddle and add all the ingredients and dry roast over medium heat until lightly roasted and giving off an aroma. Turn off the heat and allow the roasted spices to warm. Coarsely grind them in a mixer grinder or a traditional mortar and pestle like I do. You can increase the quantity and store in an airtight jar.

This chicken is best cooked with the bones but if you really want to go for boneless you can. I used shallots in the recipe. They are easily available here as tiny sambar onions or pearls. Tomatoes add the base for a tangy gravy while the bell peppers provide the requisite pop of colour and crunch to the dish. I added fresh red hot peppers from my garden which added fire to the recipe.

If you like this North Indian Kadai Chicken then you should try out this Chicken Bharta Dhaba Style and this Andhra Chilli Chicken as well.

Ingredients

For Marinating the Chicken

1 kg of chicken with bones

1 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp crushed black pepper

2 tsp lime juice or lemon juice

Rock salt according to taste

For the Kadai Masala

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp shah jeera

2 Bay leaves

1 tsp red chilli powder

2 tbsp Home-made karahi masala powder

3 large tomatoes roughly chopped

1cubed green and red bell pepper

1/2 cup small pearl onions

2 finely chopped onion

2 tbsp crushed dried fenugreek leaves (Kasuri Methi)

1 tbsp ginger juliennes

4 tbsp Oil

Salt to taste

Method for Kadai Chicken Dhaba Style

How to Marinate and fry the chicken

Marinating the Chicken
Marinating the Chicken

Coat the chicken pieces with Kadai masala, red chilli powder, crushed black pepper, lemon juice and salt. Set aside while you chop the onions and bell peppers.

Fried Kadai Chicken
Frying the Kadai Chicken

Heat a Kadai and pour the oil. Fry the marinated chicken pieces until nice and golden.

When done transfer the fried chicken pieces into a bowl.

Fried Kadai Chicken

Method to make the Kadai Chicken Gravy

Use the same Kadai and the same oil in which you fried the chicken pieces. Using the same Kadai while cooking the rest of the recipe will enhance flavours. You can add some more oil if needed.

Kadai Chicken Dhaba Style
Frying the masala

Once the Kadai and oil are hot, throw in the cumin and shah jeera and the bay leaves. Allow them to splutter for a few seconds.

Add the chopped onions and fry until golden brown. Add salt at this stage, as it will get the onions roasting fast and will deglaze the Kadai as well.

Next, add the chopped tomatoes and saute until they become soft and mushy.

Masala for Kadai Chicken Dhaba Style
Kadai Masala is ready

Add the spices; red chilli powder and Kadai masala and ginger juliennes. Sauté until the raw smell disappears, the masala becomes a smooth blend, fragrant and oil begins to ooze out at the sides.

Masala Bhun na

Kadai Chicken Dhaba Style
Kadai Chicken

It is time to add the fried chicken pieces and sauté well in the masala. In Punjabi, we call it bhun na and all the magic of the recipe lies in the bhun na of the masala or else it gives a very raw smell.

Kadai Chicken Dhaba Style
Peppers and Shallots

Toss in the chopped bell peppers and the shallots and mix. You don’t need to sauté much if you love crunchy capsicums and pearl onions in the gravy as I do. The bell peppers will get cooked in the heat of the chicken and gravy.

Garnish with crushed Kasuri methi or dry fenugreek leaves, sprinkle some more Kadai masala powder and add some ginger juliennes. Transfer to a serving dish and add some fresh coriander leaves and lemon wedges to the Kadai chicken.

Kadai Chicken Dhaba Style

Serve this Kadai Chicken Dhaba Style piping hot with roti naan or laccha parathas. Tear a piece of the Laccha paratha, soak up the masala and scoop it into your mouth. The burst of flavours will have you reaching out for more.

Kadai Chicken Dhaba Style
Kadai Chicken Dhaba Style
Print Recipe
Kadai Chicken Dhaba Style
Kadai Chicken Dhaba Style
Print Recipe
Instructions
  1. How to Marinate and fry the chicken
  2. Coat the chicken pieces with kadai masala, red chilli powder, crushed black pepper, lemon juice and salt. Set aside while you chop the onions and bell peppers.
  3. Heat a kadai and pour the oil. Fry the marinated chicken pieces until nice and golden.
  4. When done transfer the fried chicken pieces into a bowl.
  5. Method to make the Kadai Chicken Gravy
  6. Use the same kadai and the same oil in which you fried the chicken pieces. Using the same kadai while cooking the rest of the recipe will enhance flavours. You can add some more oil if needed.
  7. Once the kadai and oil is hot, throw in the cumin and shajeera and the bay leaves. Allow them to splutter for a few seconds.
  8. Add the chopped onions and fry until golden brown. Add salt at this stage, as it will get the onions roasting fast and will deglaze the Kadai as well.
  9. Next, add the chopped tomatoes and saute until they become soft and mushy.
  10. Add the spices; red chilli powder and Kadai masala and ginger juliennes. Sauté until the raw smell disappears, the masala becomes a smooth blend, fragrant and oil begins to ooze out at the sides.
  11. It is time to add the fried chicken pieces and sauté well in the masala. In Punjabi, we call it bhun na and all the magic of the recipe lies in the bhun na of the masala or else it gives a very raw smell.
  12. Toss in the chopped bell peppers and the shallots and mix. You don’t need to sauté much if you love crunchy capsicums and pearl onions in the gravy as I do. The bell peppers will get cooked in the heat of the chicken and gravy.
  13. Garnish with crushed Kasuri methi or dry fenugreek leaves, sprinkle some more Kadai masala powder and add some ginger juliennes. Transfer to a serving dish and add some fresh coriander leaves and lemon wedges to the Kadai chicken.
  14. Serve piping hot with roti naan or laccha parathas. Tear a piece of the Laccha paratha, soak up the masala and scoop it into your mouth. The burst of flavours will have you reaching out for more.
Recipe Notes

Marinate the chicken for at least an hour or prep it the previous day and keep in the fridge.

You may skip adding the shallots and add chunks of pink onions.

Harjeet Kaur

Harjeet Kaur

My writing was limited to school essays and projects for my kids and out of the blue, my writing career began with writing articles for the magazine section of The Hindu. I had a weekend column in the newspaper which was well appreciated. Juggling my time between various jobs down the years and my writing, I have written content for fliers, brochures for colleges, speeches, social media content and also website content I love writing and I am open to writing on a plethora of topics. My blog has interesting insights into my life and travels, gardening, beauty, grooming, recipes, mental health and sustainability. I am a freelance content writer and the answer to all your content generation needs. I thrive on writing and content writing gets my adrenaline pumping. Stringing words and vocabulary is my passion as well as my bread and butter. Whether it is lifestyle content, ghostwriting, blogging, features, or articles, covers the whole gamut of writing that I can pen down. My writing has been much appreciated as it attracts, engrosses as well as captivates. I love to write on any interesting topic under the sun. Meeting new people and understanding what makes them tick is always enlightening. Communication is my strong point and I get across my thoughts right from the heart. An avid and dedicated blogger, my blog is valued by family and friends alike. My blog is ranked 14 in the Top 100 Lifestyle Blogs in India. I love to cook for family and friends and my secret ingredient- “love” is abundantly used in my cooking. It covers myriad interesting topics. I am a passionate home chef and am all for a healthy balanced diet with simple, easy-to-cook recipes. What I do is transform traditional recipes into gourmet by the turn of my ladle. Do read my blogs to know me better.

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Comments 12

  1. Sabrina says:

    Beautifully explainer..superb

  2. Wow…you make every dish appear so much more appealing through your detailed capture of the ingredients and the process. The effort that you put in each of your post in commendable.

  3. Great presentation and loved the way you had explained all things so well with proper photos and video. I am vegetarian, so could not try this but seems like a great option for non vegetarians.

  4. I loved this recipe as my hubby is a die-hard chicken lover. Also loved the way you have explained the whole recipe with lovely photos and videos. The snaps are quite fascinating.

    • Harjeet Kaur says:

      Thank u Debidutta. Do try it and serve it to your husband. I use step by step method as it is easier to follow.

  5. Noor Anand Chawla says:

    I am salivating after reading your post!! That chicken looks so authentic in its dhaba style and too delicious for words!

  6. Simrit Bedi says:

    I am literally drooling.. This dhaba style kadhai chicken looks so tempting. I loved the way how you explain about the recipe in detail. Also the photos and the video along with it makes it very helpful!

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