Punjabi Kadhai Chicken, Highway Dhaba Style
Bone-in chicken cooked fast and hot in a coarsely spiced tomato-capsicum masala, a dhaba favourite along the highways feeding into Chandigarh.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 60 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 380 kcal
Equipment
- •Iron kadhai
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- fat
- 23 g
- carbs
- 12 g
- fibre
- 3 g
- protein
- 32 g
- calories
- 380 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Toast coriander seeds and dried red chillies in a dry pan. Crush them roughly.
- 2
Heat mustard oil in a kadhai (deep Indian wok) until it smokes. Turn down the heat and fry sliced onion until golden.
- 3
Add ginger-garlic paste. Cook until it smells aromatic.
- 4
Stir in tomato puree and the crushed spice mix. Cook until the oil separates from the sauce.
- 5
Add chicken pieces and fry on high heat for 5 minutes until coated in the masala (spiced sauce).
- 6
Cover and simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally until the chicken is cooked through.
- 7
Add capsicum chunks for the last 5 minutes of cooking so they stay crisp.
- 8
Season with salt and top with ginger cut into thin matchsticks. Serve hot.
Chef's tips
Frying the chicken on high heat first locks in flavour before it simmers in the masala; do not skip this step.
Ingredient substitutions
- bone-in chicken → boneless chicken thighs, reducing cook time slightly
Storage
Refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Reheating
Reheat on the stovetop over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Adding capsicum too early, leaving it soggy and overcooked.
Serving suggestions
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