Even today, visiting home is accompanied by a trip to the local dhaba. Since I’ve moved to Bangalore, food from dhaba’s is something I miss a lot. And I’ve been trying very hard to replicate the dhaba style chicken curry I remember. It took some time, but this recipe comes pretty close to the real thing.
Unlike my other recipes, this one’s slightly time consuming because masala is ground and cooked till it’s color changes. This is characteristic of most Indian curries, and the slow cooking process is what lends dishes a unique flavor.
Is there a dish that’s close to your heart that you miss? I’d love to hear all about it on facebook or twitter
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Dhaba Style Chicken Curry
Prep Time: 20 minutes- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 6 serving
Category: main course, Main Dish
Cuisine: indian
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Pin RecipeDescription
The best dhaba style chicken curry recipe! Spicy, hot, fragrant curry made with ground spices, onions and tomatoes, and perfect for family lunch or dinner.
OTHER MFS RECIPES YOU MAY LIKE
Ingredients
- 1 kg chicken (Skinless , cleaned and cut into medium sized pieces)
For the marinade:
- 2 tablespoons ginger garlic (Paste)
- 1 lemon (Juice of)
- 1 tablespoon salt
For the curry:
- 4 Onions (medium sized , chopped)
- 10 cloves garlic
- 1½ inchs ginger (piece of)
- 3 – 4 Chilies (Green (Adjust the spice as required))
- 1 tablespoon Cumin Seeds
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ cinnamon (Stick)
- 4 – 5 Cardamoms
- 8 – 10 Peppercorns
- 4 – 5 Cloves
- 4 Tomatoes (medium sized , chopped)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric (Powder)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder (Red (optional; adjust the spice as required))
- 2 tablespoons coriander (Powder)
- 1 teaspoon garam masala (Powder)
- to taste salt
For tempering:
- 1 tablespoon ghee (heaping or clarified butter)
- 2 Chilies (Green , slit lengthwise)
- ½ inch ginger (piece , julienned)
- coriander (for garnishing)
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken pieces with ginger garlic paste, lime juice and salt. Cover and set aside for 30 mins.
- Grind onions, ginger, garlic and green chilies to a fine paste. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a pressure cooker or a large heavy bottomed pan. Add cumin seeds. Roughly pound all the whole spices (bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, peppercorns and cloves) and add to the oil. Once they start to splutter, add the onion paste. Cook the onion paste on a low flame, stirring occasionally, till it is reduced to a golden, brown paste and the oil starts to surface.
- Add tomatoes, salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder (if using) and coriander powder. Cook till the tomatoes start melting, and almost form a paste.
- Add the chicken, garam masala and ½ cup water.
- Pressure Cooker:
- At this stage, if you are using a pressure cooker, place the lid and pressure cook for 3 whistles.
- Switch off the flame and let the steam escape before opening the cooker.
- Simmer for 5-10 mins on high flame, if required, to thicken the curry (Chicken leaves a lot of water). I didn’t need to do this.
- Pan Method:
- If you are using a heavy bottomed pan, bring the curry to a boil, reduce the heat, cover with a lid and let it cook on medium heat for 20-25 minutes.
- Uncover the pan, and cook for another 15-20 minutes till the water evaporates and the curry starts to thicken.
- Once the curry is ready, switch off the flame.
- In another small pan, heat ghee and add green chilies and ginger. Once they start to splutter and become slightly crisp, switch off the flame and mix the tadka (or tempering) into the curry. Top with coriander.
- Let the curry sit for 10-15 minutes before serving. Tastes best with rotis or rice.
Notes
More Dhaba Style Recipes
Awesome !!!
I blend all whole gram spices except Bay leaves ,along with onion ginger chilli to paste .My kids like this very much .
Glad you and your kids like this dhaba style chicken curry Akila!
Awesome !!!
Instead of whole gram masala spices except Bay, remaining all I blend along with the onion paste it came out well for my kids
Thank you for the recipe!
Would you recommend green or black cardamoms for this recipe?
Black cardamoms work best Anshu, but green is okay too 🙂
Thank you so much! Love this recipe!
The time and effort is totally worth the wait as this chicken is so flavorful and delicious!
★★★★★
So glad you liked it Neeti!
so yummy recipe
Made it. And it was pretty good.
Would have been better if I had boiled the chicken first on its own and then cooked it as it was a mess trying to get the chicken cooked all the way.
Did you use a pressure cooker to cook it?
I have just finished cooking this Richard, crossing fingers hope everyone likes this.
I hope you liked it!
Did you use chicken breast or thighs? Looks very yummy. Can’t wait to make this.
Rutva I used the whole chicken cut into medium sized pieces. I hope you try it out!
Am making the chicken curry for Christmas brunch. Can’t wait to see how it will turn out.
Yaaay! Hope you like it 🙂
Loved it
Hey Amelle! So glad you liked it 🙂 The color difference could be because every house has different spices and masalas, or it could be because I like to brown my onions till they are a very dark brown.
PS: I did not get that rich deep dark color that’s seen in your pictures though, any idea why?
I just made this awesome chicken curry now and even though it took a bit of time, it was truly well worth the wait! I loved the aroma as it was cooking and it tastes amazing and slightly different from the curries I’ve had before, Will be coming back to this recipe again from now on. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for trying it out Sushma. I love it when readers come back and say they liked something. It really makes all the effort worthwhile 😀
I tried the Dhaba Style Chicken curry last night. My oh my, by far one of the best home-made chicken curries I’ve had. Got a big thumbs-up from the husband too 😀 I’m a beginner and your step-by-step recipe was so simple and easy to follow. Thanks for this great recipe!
Great photos, makes you wanna cook right away. Thanks for the recipe 🙂 I’ll try it soon.
Thanks Krish. Its a regular at home 🙂
Thanks Marissa
I love curry! This looks like a great comfort meal. Beautiful photos!
Well Presented and well explained.Great recipe for non veg lovers
Thanks Analida! I hope you and your family like it as much as we do 🙂
This recipe looks delicious. My family loves curry dishes. I am certainly trying yours.
You must try this out and I know you won’t be disappointed 😀
Yaaay I hope it does!
Awww so sweet. I hope she tries it out. My favorite place to eat back home is Karara Dhaba 😉
Thank you 🙂 I’m obviously a big dhaba fan as you can see 😛
Yay I hope you try it out!
Oooh! I’ve been looking for a great curry recipe for awhile now! Thanks for posting this!
Super Richa. Love the experience at the road side dhabas. You have explained it so beautifully. And pictures … OMG! 🙂
I will bookmark this for my mother, Richa.
We try keeping meat ot fish dishes new every weekend. Thanks for the recipe because who doesnt like dhaba food. Infacg My parents’ favrt restaurant is Honey the Dhaba in Kolkata 🙂
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This looks absolutely delicious! I am DROOLING! And you know what? I took out chicken drumsticks for dinner tonight. This just might make tonight’s menu!
It looks SO GOOD! I’ll give it a try, I’m always looking for recipes like this one and I’m never really convinced to do them. Thanks for this recipe!
Aww thanks Paige 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Harriet! You are going to love it 🙂
This looks AMAZING! And your description sounds delish! I love curry, and I would love to try this! Pinning!
This curry looks so perfect! I’m such a lover of curry dishes, and I could easily eat them all day every day. I’ve never tried a Dhaba curry before, but it sounds so delicious with all of those spices. Mmm, the photos are stunning too. I will definitely be trying this!
Thanks Indu 🙂 Your comments make my day!
Thank you Brian. I’m a big curry lover too 😀
This sounds right up my street, I love curries like this 🙂
What a hearty meal! It has awakened all my tastebuds! Love all the images, especially the second one. Have pinned it!
Yaaay awesome. I’ll post more stuff you can cook 😀
Thanks for stopping by Liz!
Finally! Something I can cook. Naice! Will try and let you know how it turns out.
This sounds soooo good. Totally craving it now. And I love your photographs!
Thanks Sreedhhar. I hope you give it a try.
Paradise served on the table.It will make any man hungry thrice.Lovely description,keep it up.
Thaaaanks darling
I have been lucky enough to dig into this, and its awesomelicious! Love love love it!!!!!