Chicken Karahi - A Lip Smacking Steet Food Delight.

Ask any Pakistani what is one of their most go to street food eats and the Karahi Gosht will always be there on their list. 

As the name of the dish implies, it is cooked in a large round utensil known as the karahi (very similar to a wok) with lots of tomatoes, green chillies, salt and animal fat. It's origins are said to have started from the northern regions of Pakistan namely Khyber Pakthunkhwa in Peshawar (A city known for many other culinary delights as well). It is said that the Shinwari and Afridi tribes were known to make this specialty and from there it travelled across other parts of the country gaining it's popularity. According to some historic tales, a British civil servant was invited by the local Afridis to a garden party at Khyber to watch a display of guns, fireworks and an exhibition of how they attack in the enemy's position. There, he was served mutton freshly roasted in tomatoes. 

Nowadays you'd see this dish served in almost every Pakistani restaurant, but the ones that I have the most fondest memories of are having to go to the Shinwari and Afridi owned restaurants dotted across the highways outside of Karachi, where you could sit on top of these traditional woven rope / straw made wooden beds known as the charpais, complete with long cushions known as the gaon takiya while you and your family or friends feasted on freshly made karahis served with fresh hot naans under the starry night skies. It's also become a very popular street food as well as a very common staple of Eid dinners.

The original version of the karahi contains very few ingredients, variations of it emerged at different parts of the country each with their own distinct style and preparation. While predominantly made with mutton or lamb, the chicken version also gained a lot of popularity and is also thoroughly enjoyed like it's red meat brethren. 

Here I've prepared the chicken version in the style that's more popular in Karachi. This usually involves a few extra ingredients like yoghurt, garam masala, cumin and coriander powder and lots of chillies. Some prefer to put red chilli flakes to give it that extra spicy kick but I feel the green chillies and the garam masala warrant enough of the spiciness to tingle your taste buds, though I leave that up to the user as to how spicy they want it. 

The dish is packed with so much flavour that once you try it, you'll be savouring the taste so much that it will definitely become a staple of your cooking repertoire. Best served with freshly made hot naan. 

Here's the recipe:

Chicken Karahi Recipe:

Ingredients:

- 1kg chicken cut into curry sized pieces (skinless).
- 4 to 5 large tomatoes (around 500gms)
- 6 to 7 green chillies - chopped (Add more or less according to taste)
- 2 tbsp garlic paste
- 2 tbsp ginger paste
- 1/2 cup yoghurt 
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 2 tsp garam masala powder
- 1 Star anise
- Ginger (Julienned)
- Handful of coriander (chopped)
- 1 cup oil
- 1 to 2 tbsp salt (Or according to taste)

Preparation:

- Take a large wok (Or a deep cooking pan) and put it on high heat. Then add in the oil and let it get hot. 

- Add in the Star anise and carefully add in the chicken piece by piece as the oil will be very hot and start splattering (Use a lid to avoid splatter if necessary). 

- Add in the salt, then stir fry the chicken until it changes colour. 

- Next add in the ginger and garlic paste and keep stir frying on high or medium-high heat until the edges of the chicken turn slightly brown. 

- Slice the tomatoes in halves and add it into the wok / pan skin side up. Cover and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes. 

- Remove the lid and you'll notice the tomatoes have softened up. Carefully remove the skin of the tomatoes and then using your stirring spoon (or utensil of choice), mash the tomatoes into the mixture and mix it all together until it is well incorporated. 

- Keep stir frying on medium to medium-low heat until the liquid is a bit dried out. (If there's a lot)

- Next, add in the yoghurt, garam masala, coriander powder, cumin powder, green chillies and lemon juice.

- Keep stir frying until the oil separates, then add in the julienned ginger, chopped coriander. Cover again and let it cook on low heat for 15 minutes. 

- After 15 minutes, switch off the stove and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving. 

- Enjoy with fresh hot naan!