3-Masala Chicken Kadhai — Restaurant-Style With Just Three Spices!

3-Masala Chicken Kadhai — Restaurant-Style Flavor With Just Three Spices!

A powerful chicken kadhai is ready with just three spices, and the taste is so amazing you will make it again and again. Today’s recipe is special because it uses only three main spices — yet gives this chicken a completely restaurant-style flavor. Let’s get started!

Ingredients

• Chicken: 1/2 kg
• Mustard Oil: as needed
• Green Chilies (thick variety): 100-150 grams
• Tomatoes: 750 grams (use organic if possible)
• Crushed Garlic: 1 tablespoon
• Yogurt: 100 grams
• The Three Spices:
  • Coriander Powder: 1/2 teaspoon
  • Roasted Cumin (coarsely crushed): 1/2 teaspoon
  • Black Peppercorns (coarsely crushed): 1/2 teaspoon — do NOT grind fine, keep it coarse or the gravy will turn black
• Salt: to taste
• Fresh Coriander: for garnish
• Ginger Julienne: for garnish

Step 1: Fry the Green Chilies

Heat mustard oil in a kadhai (wok) until medium hot. Take 100-150 grams of thick green chilies, make a slit in each, and fry in the hot oil for 2-3 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Step 2: Brown the Chicken

In the same hot oil, add half a kilogram of chicken pieces in batches. Fry, turning occasionally, until a light crust forms and the color changes slightly.

Step 3: Add Tomatoes

Without removing the chicken, add 750 grams of tomatoes directly into the kadhai. Make a cut on each tomato — this helps the skin come off easily later when they soften. Sprinkle some salt on top (salt helps tomatoes soften faster). Cover and cook for 5 minutes.

Step 4: Peel the Tomatoes

After 5 minutes, when the tomatoes are soft, remove them one by one onto a plate. Let them cool slightly and peel off the skin. Leave the chicken to cook on low heat in the meantime.

Step 5: Add Garlic

While the chicken is cooking on low heat, add 1 tablespoon of crushed garlic. We did not add garlic earlier in the hot oil because burnt garlic ruins the dish. Adding it now with the chicken gives it the perfect garlic flavor.

Step 6: Mash and Cook the Tomatoes

Once the tomato skins are removed, put the peeled tomatoes back into the kadhai with the chicken. Mash them with a spoon and cook with the chicken. Cover and let the tomatoes soften completely — they will form the gravy base.

The tomatoes and chicken will both release their water, their flavors will merge, and the gravy will thicken. This is why we used 750 grams of tomatoes — they are the soul of chicken kadhai gravy.

Step 7: Add Yogurt

When the oil surfaces after the tomato and chicken bhunai, add 100 grams of yogurt and roast it into the mixture.

Step 8: Add the Three Spices (The Star!)

Now add the magic three:

• 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1/2 teaspoon roasted crushed cumin (coarsely ground, not fine)
• 1/2 teaspoon coarsely crushed black pepper (keep it coarse — fine pepper will turn the gravy black)

The moment you add these three spices, the aroma will be so incredible you will start getting hungry right there!

Step 9: Final Bhunai

When you see the tomatoes and chicken have released a lot of water, turn the flame to high and reduce the liquid. The chicken is already partially cooked, and the tomatoes are soft.

The secret to chicken kadhai is the bhunai (roasting) — the better you roast, the better the flavor. Cook on low heat so the spices absorb into the chicken.

Step 10: Add the Chilies Back

Since the chicken is now tender, add the fried green chilies back into the kadhai. Cook for 2-3 minutes so their flavor infuses into the chicken. These chilies add incredible flavor to chicken kadhai — this is the real texture of authentic desi chicken kadhai!

The gravy should not be thin — it should cling to the chicken like a thick coating.

Serving

Turn off the flame. Garnish with fresh coriander and ginger julienne.

This incredible chicken kadhai made with just three spices is ready! Enjoy with homemade phulkas or rumali roti.

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