Despite all of the flavor-packed dishes that make up Pakistani cuisine, sometimes all you want is a homestyle Murghi ka salan (chicken curry).
A simple chicken curry that can be eaten with rice or roti/naan. It’s made with humble ingredients, and comes together quickly. It screams comfort and nearly every Pakistani family has their own recipe. This one is mine, and is loved by my children and myself.
Pakistani Chicken Curry/ Murghi Ka Salan
Ingredients
- 2 pounds skinless chicken, boneless or bone-in, cut into desired sizes
- ½ cup neutral flavored oil
- 2 medium onions, sliced
- 2 tablespoons yogurt
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- 1½ tablespoons ginger garlic paste
- 2 teaspoons coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- 4 green cardamoms
- 1 dried bay leaf
- Salt, to taste
Garnish
- Chopped cilantro
- Whole green chilies
Instructions
-
Heat oil in a large vessel over medium high heat. Add onions and cook until golden brown, stirring often. Once onions have turned golden, carefully transfer to a dish or container, add yogurt and tomatoes, and puree to a smooth consistency. Set aside.
-
In the same vessel, add chicken and ginger garlic paste. Cook over medium high heat until the chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a separate dish and set aside.
-
To the remaining oil (add more if there is not enough), add coriander powder, red chili powder, cardamoms, bayleaf, and salt. Cook for a minute, adding a splash of water as needed if the spices are sticking to the bottom of the vessel.
-
Add onion and yogurt paste, and cook over medium high heat until the oil begins to separate, about 15 to 25 minutes. Add splashes of water as needed if the mixture is beginning to stick to the bottom of the vessel.
-
Add chicken into the curry, reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through. Adjust seasoning as needed.
Recipe Notes
Measurements are in actual measuring spoons/cups and not eating utensils.
Recipe adapted from Karachi Chefs At Home.
Your recipes are always a hit with my family so I was excited to see this recipe in my inbox. Thanks for always sharing delicious meal ideas with us.
Fatima, you have ALWAYS been so supportive. It is because of lovely people like you that I continue to have the drive to continue blogging <3
I tried this today and it came out good! I did want to ask a few questions so its even better the next time I make it!
did you take out the onions while they were still translucent/yellow? I tried to get mine golden brown but they just went straight to brown and I did notice a little bit of a deeper taste.
also when I cooked the chicken, a LOT of water came out from it! did you toss the water or use it when you readd the chicken in the last step?
Thank you for sharing! I like your cooking style and am excited to try the biryani next
Thank you so much for your feedback!
So you want them to be a light brown; onions quickly go from perfect to burnt, so it’s that sweet spot between a light brown and burnt.
As for the water from the chicken, you can either cook it off when you’re cooking the chicken initially, or add it when you’re adding the chicken back to the pot, and cook it off until you’ve reached your desired consistency for the gravy.
Thanks For Sharing this Amazing Recipe. My Family Loved It. I will be sharing this Recipe with my Friends. Hope They will like it.