Tariwala chicken or Punjabi Chicken Curry

Tariwala chicken or Punjabi Chicken Curry

My first memories of eating non-veg are of only one dish; Tariwala chicken or Punjabi Chicken Curry and we grew up eating only this. We know Punjabis love their tari, whether it is the chicken or rajma (kidney beans), chole (garbanzo) or lobiya(one-eyed bean) curry. This is one of the Indian curries that are a rage all over the globe now.

My mom was a vegetarian, but she cooked Tariwala chicken religiously once a week for my dad. The gravy would never be thick, and she would cook it once a week. I remember it was never Tuesday or Sunday as dad didn’t eat non-veg on both days.

Mom’s Recipe

They gave men the drumstick and breast and gave the girls the smaller neck and other pieces (there was some logic behind that). Although mom never tasted what she cooked, it was always delicious as she added a huge amount of love to it. Mom always cooked it in ghee or clarified butter, enhancing the taste a bit more. I would still recommend using cow ghee instead of oil. You can reduce the quantity of ghee and it is much healthier than any refined oil.

Tariwala chicken or Punjabi Chicken Curry

Tari actually means a thick flavoured gravy sauce but mom’s was traditionally thin. You can always thicken it up according to your taste by adding less water. The recipe I learnt from my mom, who was so adept at making this weekly dish. I attach nostalgic memories to this dish. I used to chew up the softened bones of the neck pieces and loved to soak up my rice or roti in the delicious gravy. If any of us had a cold, she asked us to drink up a bowl of this exceptional and nutritious chicken curry. It was a sure-shot way of opening up all your nasal tubes if you suffered from a blocked nose.

The daughter is home and on a diet and asked me to cook boneless chicken for lunch. I remembered my mom’s recipe and incorporated the bone chicken into a boneless one.

Do give my Tariwala chicken curry a try–maybe you will start a tradition of your own.

INGREDIENTS

1 kg chicken, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 tbsp ghee or clarified butter. Oil if you prefer.

1 one-inch cinnamon sticks

4 green cardamoms

4 cloves

2 black cardamoms

1 tbsp Kasuri methi

4 medium onions, thinly sliced, grated or a paste

A cup of fresh tomato puree

1 tbsp ginger paste

4 green chillies slit in the middle

1 tbsp garlic paste

¼ cup chopped fresh coriander

1 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

1 tsp red chilli powder

2 tbsp coriander powder

1 tsp garam masala powder4 cups water

METHOD

Heat the ghee in a large saucepan, and then add the dry spices; cinnamon, green and black cardamom, and cloves.

Once you smell the heady aroma of the spices, add the ginger and garlic paste and sauté till golden brown.

Add the onion and sauté, stirring continuously and now add the Kasuri methi. And you know what? My dad was from Kasur in Pakistan. The fibrous ginger sticks to the bottom of the pan, but if you add it before the onion, it doesn’t stick that much.

Tariwala chicken is made of-

The magic of this recipe lies in how you fry or bhuno the onion and ginger-garlic paste. It has to be done well and the end result should be a dark brown paste. It needs a wee bit of patience.

Add the slit green chillies, coriander powder, chilli powder and turmeric while you keep stirring all the while. You need to let all the spices cook to release the ghee.

Add the tomato puree and saute the masala until you see the ghee floating on the sides of the masala. You know your masala is done when the ghee floats on the sides.

Add the chicken pieces and sauté until we smeared them well with the masala. The masala has to coat all the pieces and seep in. The juices of the chicken and the masala combine to give this dish its unique taste.

Add four cups of water and mix well. Cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes on medium heat.

Add the garam masala powder and mix well. Remove from the fire and transfer to a serving bowl.

Garnish with fresh coriander. If you are eating this curry with rice, then your gravy should be a little thin, but if you are eating it with roti or bread, then it needs to be thick.

Enjoy your scrumptious Tariwala Chicken by demolishing it with steamed rice, roti, or bread or even have a big bowl of it just as it is.

I can actually smell my mom cooking this dish. I turned vegetarian by choice 20 years ago and it is the first time that I wish I could once again taste my mom’s cooking. Even I cook but do not eat chicken.

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2023 

This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Dr. Preeti Chauhan.