Kadai chicken with roti
Chicken cooked in a kadai with onion, tomato and capsicum and a freshly pounded kadai masala of coriander seeds and dried red chillies, finished with kasuri methi and eaten with hot rotis. Kadai paneer is made the same way, and chicken jalfrezi and do pyaza are close relatives.
- 1 h 05Time
- 1 hHands-on
- 4Portions
- 41 gprotein per portion
- 750kcal per portion
Ingredients for 4 portions
- 800 gChicken curry cut
- 1 ½ tbspCoriander seeds (sabut dhania)
- 4Dried red chillies
- 1 tspCumin, seeds
- 3 mlBlack pepper, whole peppercorns
- 2Onions, finely chopped
- 3Tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1Capsicum, in 2 cm squares
- 4 tbspRefined oil
- 1 ½ tbspGinger-garlic paste
- 2Green chillies, slit
- 3 mlTurmeric
- to tasteSalt
- 1 tspKashmiri chilli powder
- ≈ 150 mlWater
- 1 tspKasuri methi
- 3 mlGaram masala
- 15 gCoriander leaves, chopped
On the side
- 300 gAtta
- ≈ 200 mlWater, for the dough
- 1 tbspGhee, for the rotis (optional)
Method
- Put the atta in a wide bowl or paraat and add the water little by little, kneading into a soft, smooth dough, about 5 minutes. Cover and let it rest.
- Dry-roast the coriander seeds, dried red chillies, cumin seeds and peppercorns in a dry kadai on low heat until fragrant, 2–3 minutes. Cool and grind coarsely in a mixie or with a mortar and pestle: this is the kadai masala.
- Finely chop the onions and tomatoes and cut the capsicum into squares.
- Heat the oil in the kadai and fry the onions until golden, about 7 minutes. Add the ginger-garlic paste and green chillies and fry for a minute.
- Add the chicken, turmeric and salt and fry on high heat, turning the pieces, for 5 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, Kashmiri chilli powder and half the kadai masala and cook until the tomatoes break down, about 5 minutes.
- Pour in the water, cover and cook on medium-low heat until the chicken is tender, about 20 minutes, stirring now and then.
- Meanwhile make the rotis: divide the dough into 12 balls and roll each into a thin roti, about 15 cm across, dusting with a little dry atta. Cook on a hot tawa until small bubbles appear, flip and cook until light brown spots show, then hold it over the flame with tongs (or press gently with a folded cloth) until it puffs up. Brush with ghee if you like and keep the rotis wrapped in a cloth or in a casserole.
- Uncover, add the capsicum and the rest of the kadai masala and cook on high heat, stirring, until the masala clings to the chicken and the capsicum is just soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the kasuri methi crushed between your palms, the garam masala and coriander leaves and serve with the rotis.
