This Pakistani Chicken Karahi is a tomato-forward, ginger-garlic chicken curry that has a masala that is both clean and full flavored just like a great karahi should be. Make it bone in for a classic karahi or boneless for weeknight ease!
🔍 Quick Look: Chicken Karahi
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🍳 Cook Time: 30-35 minutes
- 🕒 Total Time: 40-45 minutes
- 👥 Servings: 4
- 🔥 Cook Method: Stovetop
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy
- Key to Success: Read the tips section!
As someone who struggles with Pakistani cooking, this was an easy and DELICIOUS recipe to follow packing a punch of flavour! - Sundus
What is Chicken Karahi?
A karahi chicken is a classic South Asian tomato forward dish that is made by cooking the meat in a wok shaped pan or "karahi". The idea was that cooking in a wide open pot allowed the masala a greater surface area to cook and develop flavour in a faster time, making this a popular roadside restaurant favorite.
Karahi Chicken also typically doesn't have any onions or yogurt, but here, just as with my beloved Karahi Gosht, I do cheat and add a little yoghurt in. Am I selectively following the rules? Yes. Do I regret it? No. The reason is that sometimes chicken needs all the help it can get and I like to be a supportive cook.
If you're looking for an even quicker cook, this Masalalicious Fish Karahi has my heart. Also if you are here and hoping for a drier Balochi style Highway Karahi then that is right here.
Boneless vs Bone In Chicken Karahi
I am from Karahi that melting pot city by the sea where people from all over Pakistan share their versions of a Karahi Chicken. They are almost exclusively bone in and that's because it's cheaper and more flavorful. When the chicken cooks the nutrients from the bone permeate and flavor the masala, creating a slightly broth-y undertone to a Karahi. The classic way of cooking a karahi is to go in with the chicken, ginger/garlic, tomatoes, spices (no onions please) and only add oil when it dries out, kinda like what I do with my well loved Chicken Ginger Recipe.
So then why the change?
Once I moved to Canada I realized that the chicken here doesn't have the same intrinsic flavour (as is to be expected). Chicken breast was also the preferred protein in my household for health reasons and convenience so I had to think long and hard about how to make it work, and all it took was some small tweaks to the classic approach to make a karahi that will be fabulous boneless or bone in.
Did I try it with onions? yes. but then it becomes a Chicken Bhuna Masala not a karahi you know? My rule breaking has it's limits 🙂
Ingredients that Count
- Chicken: for boneless chicken you need less and can use either chicken breast (above) or thigh meat, but for bone in the quantity naturally increases. Please note that for bone in chicken the best chicken is a smaller one where the meat tends to be more flavorful and have finer more tender fibre.
- Yoghurt: here is where we court controversy, karahi chicken does not typically have yoghurt but boneless chicken can often use the extra help as can any chicken that's larger and more dry or fibrous.
- Ginger and garlic: fresh is best, but paste can also work (except as a garnish of course!)
Tips for a DELICIOUS Karhai Chicken
- Use a large pot (wok shaped is ideal) for cooking. You want lots of room to cook everything down! I do find the amount of oil you need varies by pot so if your masala ain't glossing just add a slash more.
- In a simple dish how you treat spices makes a huge difference. Coriander and cumin seeds that are roasted and coarsely crushed are game changers! If you only have powdered versions quickly roast them in a dry pan on medium heat!
- Garnishes are everything! The chicken alone will be tasty, but the magic happens when you turn the stove off, scatter over thinly sliced pungent ginger, fresh citrusy cilantro, and fresh green chilies. Add half of them in, adjust consistency, taste, and add the other half and you will have a Karahi that sings!
How to make this Chicken Karahi recipe
This is honestly such a great beginner friendly weeknight recipe. Scan below to see how it's done!
- Marinate your chicken and then chop your tomatoes and garnishes
2. Dry roast your spices while the pan heats up (you want it on med heat), crush when cooled.
3. Add your oil, tomatoes, marinated chicken and spices and mix well.
4. Simmer covered till tender - this takes about 20 minutes but tougher chicken may need more time.
5. The chicken will look like this, time to crank up the heat.
6. Saute till the masala looks rich and glossy.
Adjust consistency to your liking, add half your garnishes, taste, and adjust seasoning! Serve scattered with the other half.
Your Karahi Questions Answered
Chicken thigh will give you a juicier karahi especially when fresh, but some people don't like the gamier taste of it so you do you. Both will work with this recipe.
How spicy you find a dish varies by spice tolerance but if you are concerned then drop the chili flakes by half and deseed your green chilies (but please don't skip!)
Stovetop. hands down. If you want it to 'feel' fresher then you can reserve the second half of the garnishes and scatter over after reheating.
Menu Ideas
As always I got you! Here are some delicious combinations!
Hope you try this recipe and like it! Do let me know what you think by rating the recipe below. As always you can share your recreations by tagging me on Instagram @flourandspiceblog 🙂
Karahi Chicken (boneless or bone in)
Equipment
- Wok or wok shaped pot
Ingredients
- 400 g chicken cut into 1 inch pieces. roughly 2 chicken breasts or 0.9lb - for bone in you want 1 ¼-1 ½ lb or 600g-ish
Marinade
- ¼ cup yogurt
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp ginger garlic paste (or fresh crushed, 4 cloves garlic and ½ inch ginger)
Roasted Masala
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1` tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp peppercorn
Karahi Ingredients
- ¼ cup oil
- 1 tsp chili flakes
- ½-3/4 tsp salt
- 4 tomatoes (or ⅓ cup passata)
Garnish
- 1 tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- 3 tbsp chopped cilantro
- 2-4 green chilies
- julienned ginger (8-12 slivers)
Instructions
- Combine the marinade ingredients with the chicken and set aside.
- Chop your tomatoes and garnishes.
- Put your pan on medium heat and add the roasted masala to the pan and roast until aromatic and then coarsely pound them in a grinder or mortar and pestle (or see notes)
- Now add your oil, chicken, tomatoes, salt, chili flakes and HALF your roasted masala to the pan, simmer, covered, and on low till tender (20 minutes).
- At this point your chicken is done and you should be able to easily break it. If for some reason you cannot then add a splash of water and simmer on low heat until it's to your liking.
- Crank up the heat and dry up the masala until it starts to look glossy and stick to the pan.
- Add the kasuri methi, half the garnishes, and water for consistency and taste. Here is where you can add the rest of your roasted masala or save it for next time.
- Turn off the stove, top with the remaining garnishes and dig in with some naan or chapatai!
Notes
- While the freshly pounded masala takes minutes and adds lots of flavour, you can absolutely just go in with equivalent amounts of the powdered version of all the spices and give them a quick toast. That's a low effort way to wake up their natural flavour!
- The passata sub is undoubtedly unorthodox but it totally works.
- TIP: You can also marinate the chicken a night ahead or even half an hour before cooking for more tender chicken - just do what works with your schedule
- This recipe has been tweaked in June 2026 to give clearer instructions for bone in and timing, if you want the original send a note to info@flourandspiceblog.com
Aisha says
Just the perfect Karahi! I was skeptical of the yogurt but I honestly didn’t notice it at all in the final dish, but we licked the masala clean!
Sarah Mir says
YAY!!! What a win thank you!!!!
AG says
This recipe is a serious life hack for excellent chicken karhai!! Never going back to the 10-step version. Simple, easy to follow recipe, few ingredients, no complicated layering of flavors to get the same excellent karhai taste. Bookmarking forever.
Sarah Mir says
Thanks Ghee!!! Makes me so happy when a recipe works for you - you're part of my OG push to start blogging!
Sara says
The only difficult part of this recipe is to go buy chicken or thaw it in time.. other than that it came together so quick. I made it before leaving for work and while making it, packed kids school lunches and dropped them to school as well. It’s that easy and so so so tasty! So for all working busy moms or newly wed young girls who are still learning .. this is your recipe to save!
Sarah Mir says
aww thank you so so much for that resounding endorsement! you have no idea how much it means!
Nazifa says
Might be an inane question but just wondering if we put the marinade into the pan along with the chicken or wipe it off first? Leaning towards wiping it off because the yoghurt might split if cooked for so long - no?
Sarah Mir says
Put it alllll in there! yoghurt splits because of the temperature differential not because of the time it takes to cook! hope that helps
Sundus says
As someone who struggles with Pakistani cooking, this was an easy and DELICIOUS recipe to follow packing a punch of flavour!
Sarah Mir says
YAY! Thank you Sundus for this review!!!
Kim says
Can’t wait to try this one! Looks delicious and I agree, the fresh garnishes on top are the real attention getter! Yum!
Sarah Mir says
Absolutely! Thanks Kim!!!
Mehwish Fatima says
This was an easy recipe that delivered big on flavour!!
Sarah Mir says
Thank you so so very much!
Afsheen says
Whole heartedly agree 💯 💜
Sarah Mir says
thank you!
Juveria says
Great recipe . Learnt something new about dried spices addition , trying soon .
Sarah Mir says
thank you!
Amal Parkar says
Assalamu Alaikum Sarah,
Hope you and your family in good health.
I tried this recipe last night and it is a perfect week night dish to cook post work. It was sooooo flavorful. Alhamdulillah.
My husband loved it. JazakAllahu Khairan for sharing such amazing recipes with us.
Sarah Mir says
Wasalam!! Thank YOU for sharing this - happy you liked it and appreciate you taking the time to tell me!
Taybah says
Wow, this recipe is AMAZING! I made it yesterday and my kids and husband devoured it! I did reduce the spice a little bit for the kids, but the flavour was still amazing. This will become a weekly staple 🙂
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
I am so so glad to hear that!!! This is one of my kids favourites too!
Vajeeha says
Made it last night for iftaar snd alhamdolillah it was Reallyyy delicious!!! My husband loved it and got a surprise visit from my sister in law, she loved it too.
Very simple and easy to make!!!
Jazak Allah for sharing. Next time ill do Coal Smoke in it to give it BBQ flavor!! 😊
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
ooohhhh coal smoke would be AWESOME! I am so so glad you enjoyed it and thank you for sharing that here!
Aneela Rashad says
Ive just made this for dinner and my family, especially my toddler loves it! I always make your kid friendly pulao and my son loves it.
Please if you can, add more kid friendly Pakistani recipes.
We love your recipes. Thank you!!!!
sarahjmir@gmail.com says
I am SO SO happy to hear that! I've been making this for my kids since they were little too! I will put together a Pakistani recipes for kids category soon IA!
Susan says
I made it for lunch today and it was absolutely delicious! So so good with Chapathi. Thank you Sarah for such a yummy recipe!
Mehwish Anwar says
Very tasty and delicious recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Kanwal says
Can we make this the same way for bone in chicken?
Sarah Mir says
yes absolutely - typically for a lb of boneless you're good with 1.5/1.75 pound bone in!