Chicken karahi

Not to be confused with chicken curry.

Chicken Karahi

Chicken Karahi
Place of origin	Northwestern South Asia
Region or state	Indian subcontinent [1]
Associated cuisine	Pakistan, India [1]
Main ingredients	Chicken
Media: Chicken Karahi

Chicken karahi, or chicken kadahi, is a chicken dish from South Asia. ^{[A] [1] [2]} It is known as gosht karahi or gosht kadahi when prepared with goat or lamb meat instead of that of chicken. ^[3] The dish is prepared in a karahi (a type of wok from the Indian subcontinent) and can take between 30 and 50 minutes to prepare and cook the dish. ^{[4] [3]} Ginger, garlic, tomatoes, green chilli and coriander are key to the flavor of the dish. ^[5] What distinguishes chicken karahi from other curries from the region is that traditionally, it is cooked without onions in the base, and instead uses just tomatoes, ginger and garlic. ^[6] It is usually served with naan, roti or rice. This dish is common in North Indian and Pakistani cuisine. ^[1]

The dish being prepared in a large karahi, a pot of the Indian subcontinent.

History

The Hindi-Urdu word karahi (a type of pot used in the Indian subcontinent) derives from the Prakrit word kataha (कटाह), being mentioned in the Sanskrit text Sushruta Samhita . ^[7]

Chicken karahi (chicken kadahi) may originate in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, being famous in the city of Lahore. ^{[3] [8]} The dish's relative, gosht karahi (gosht kadahi) is thought to have originated in the colonial era North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan) with this dish being made of lamb or goat, rather than chicken. ^[3]

The dish is a staple in menus of Indian and Pakistani restaurants in various parts of the world; the 'Bigger than Bollywood' experience at Hexham Library in Northumberland featured Indian cooks making chicken karahi with naan for British Film Institute tourists as early as 2002. ^[9]

References

Notes

1. Though the romanization of the Hindi-Urdu karahi and kadahi is slightly different, it is the same word in Hindi-Urdu (कड़ाही / کڑاہی), with the same pronunciation. This is because in Devanagari, a nuqta is added to the letter ड, (ḍa) to produce the sound ड़ (ṛa) in the word कड़ाही, whereas in the Urdu script, the small t̤oʾe diacritic is added to the letter ر (rāʾ) to produce ڑ (ṛe) in the word کڑاہی. The Hindi-Urdu romanization of the dish is variously rendered as chicken karahi, chicken kadahi, chicken karai, or chicken kadai.

Citations

1. Marques, Joan; Dhiman, Satinder (5 July 2020). Social Entrepreneurship and Corporate Social Responsibility. Springer Nature. p. 204. ISBN   978-3-030-39676-3. They serve Pakistani and Indian staples, like chicken karahi, goat curry, and saag paneer (Kinney, 2017).
2. Halim, Gloria; Russo, Samantha (25 February 2011). Healing Foods, Healthy Foods: Use superfoods to help fight disease and maintain a healthy body. Little, Brown Book Group. ISBN   978-1-84803-571-3.
3. "Food Stories: Mutton karahi/". 6 October 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
4. "Chicken Karahi – Is this delicacy one of the best dishes in Pakistan?/". 3 May 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
5. "Chicken Karahi - Chicken Tomato Curry - Jamil Ghar". 2 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
6. Cooks, Fatima (26 February 2020). "Chicken Karahi Recipe". Fatima Cooks. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
7. "Karahi" (in French). Gastronomiac. 2025. Retrieved 10 December 2025. Karahi ou Kadahi vient du mot prakrit Kataha, mentionné dans Râmâyana (*), Sushruta Samhita (**).
8. Campion, Charles (2003). The Rough Guide to London Restaurants. Rough Guides. p. 44. ISBN   978-1-84353-097-8.
9. Library + Information Update. Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals. 2002. p. 21.