Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Tariwalla Murgh
Tariwalla Murgh (Home-Style Chicken Curry)

Tariwalla Murgh

Home-Style Chicken Curry
Non-vegetarian

A homely chicken curry with a thin onion-tomato gravy, potatoes and whole warm spices. It tastes savoury, lightly tangy and gently hot.

Whole spices for the oil

3.2 gAdded to the hot oil (step 5)
Keep whole; add them all at once.

Ground spices for the sauce

10 gStirred into the thickened tomato base (step 8)
01
3 g1 teaspoon
spice
03
2.6 g1 teaspoon
spice
04
3.6 g2 teaspoons
spice
Mix them together; add all at once.

Everything else

01
180 g
vegetable
02
Garlic · Lehsunroughly chopped
18 g6 cloves
aromatic
03
Fresh ginger · Adrakroughly chopped
10 g2½ cm
aromatic
04
Tomato · Tamatarroughly chopped
120 g
vegetable
05
16 g1 tablespoon
vegetable
06
40 g3 tablespoons
oil/fat
07
850 g
poultry
08
to taste
salt
09
268 g270 ml
liquid
10
Potato · Aloopeeled and diced
230 g
vegetable
11
to taste
herb
12
15 g1 tablespoon
souring agent

Method

  1. Blend 180 g white onion to a fine purée; scrape into a bowl.
  2. Blend 18 g garlic and 5 g ginger with a splash of water to a paste; scrape into a second bowl.
  3. Blend 120 g tomato and 15.6 g tomato purée to a loose purée; scrape into a third bowl.
  4. Warm 40.5 g vegetable oil in a wide, heavy pan over medium heat.
  5. Drop in the whole spices for the oil. Once they crackle, add the onion purée and cook for 9–10 minutes, stirring often.
  6. Stir in the garlic-ginger paste and cook for 1 minute.
  7. Add the tomato purée mixture and cook for 2 minutes, until it thickens.
  8. Stir in the ground spices for the sauce (the masala) and cook for 3 minutes, stirring.
  9. Add 850 g chicken and turn to coat; fry for 7–8 minutes to brown all over.
  10. Season with salt, pour in 268 g water, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
  11. Add 230 g potato, cover and cook for 15–17 minutes more, until the potato is tender and the chicken is done.
  12. Scatter over chopped coriander to taste and squeeze in 15.3 g lemon juice.

Don't have something?

White onion
  • Brown onion

    Use the same weight; it is the closest everyday match, with a slightly deeper sweetness when fried.

  • Red onion

    Use the same weight; it is sharper and will tint the dish pink, so cook a little longer for sweetness.

  • Shallot

    Use the same weight; it is milder and sweeter, so reduce frying time slightly to avoid burning.

Garlic
  • Garlic paste

    Use equal weight. Fry gently in oil or ghee with the ginger; incorporates smoothly into curries without visible minced bits.

  • Garlic powder

    Use 15% to 20% of the weight (about 1 g for every 5 to 6 g fresh cloves). Whisk into sauces; gives a savoury, toasted garlic flavour without raw pungency.

  • Shallot

    Use 1.5 times the weight, very finely minced. Sauté until golden; provides savoury allium sweetness, though it lacks garlic's pungent sulphur bite.

Fresh ginger
  • Ginger paste

    Use equal weight. Sauté in hot fat until the raw allium smell disappears; slightly wetter, but provides identical warmth and pungency.

  • Ground ginger

    Use 20% to 25% of the weight (1 g for every 4 to 5 g fresh). Stir into the gravy; adds peppery heat and warmth, though it misses the crisp, zesty kick of raw root.

Tomato
  • Tomato purée

    Use 40% to 50% of the fresh tomato weight mixed with a splash of water. Imparts a deeper red colour, thicker sauce, and slightly sweeter cooked flavour.

  • Plain yogurt

    Use 60% of the weight, whisked smooth and added on low heat. Provides rich body and sourness, though the gravy becomes paler and creamier.

Tomato purée
  • Tomato

    Use 200% to 250% of the weight. Finely grate or blend fresh tomatoes, then cook them down until the moisture evaporates and the oil separates.

Vegetable oil
  • Peanut oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Handles high-heat frying identically and introduces a very subtle, pleasant nuttiness.

  • Ghee

    Use 1:1 by weight. Yields a much richer, authentic aroma and a glossy, heavier mouthfeel.

  • Mustard oil

    Use 1:1 by weight. Heat until smoking, then cool slightly before cooking to temper its intensely pungent, sharp mustard kick.

Green cardamom pod
  • Green cardamom seed

    Use 35 to 40% of the total pod weight; lightly bruise the seeds before frying in oil to release their essential oils.

  • Ground green cardamom

    Use 20 to 25% of the pod weight (about 1 generous pinch per pod); stir in toward the end of cooking so the delicate floral notes do not dissipate.

  • White cardamom pod

    Use 1:1 by pod count or weight; crack gently before using, though it is slightly less intensely floral.

Cassia bark
  • Ceylon cinnamon

    True cinnamon: thinner, papery quills, milder and sweeter. Use about 1.5 times the weight, and taste.

  • Ground cinnamon (cassia)

    Use about a third of the weight (0.5 g ground for a 2.5 cm piece), stirred in with the ground spices rather than fried whole, since the powder burns quickly.

  • Cassia buds

    Use 60-70% of the weight; stronger and more peppery, so taste before adding more.

Bay leaf
  • Cinnamon stick

    Use a 2 cm piece (about 1 g) for every 1 to 2 bay leaves. Fry in whole-spice temperings; provides the cassia-like warmth typical of Indian tejpatta.

  • Ground cinnamon (cassia)

    Use 0.5 g per leaf. Stir into the sauce during simmering; gives the same warm woodiness but darkens the colour slightly.

Ground turmeric
  • Ground ginger

    Use 50% of the weight. Mimics turmeric's warm, earthy, rhizome background, but provides none of the golden-yellow colour.

  • Saffron

    Steep a tiny pinch (0.1 g per 2 g turmeric) in 2 tbsp warm water; use to match the rich golden hue. Contributes an aristocratic, honeyed floral flavour rather than earthy bitterness.

Kashmiri chilli powder
  • Dried kashmiri chilli

    Grind deseeded dried pods to an equal weight of powder; gives identical vivid red colour and gentle warmth.

  • Red chilli powder

    Use 25% of the weight mixed with sweet paprika for colour; straight red chilli powder is substantially hotter and will make the dish fiery.

  • Chilli powder

    Use one-third of the weight; the sauce will be less intensely red and notably sharper in heat.

Ground cumin
  • Cumin seed

    Dry-roast briefly and grind finely; use equal weight (1:1). Imparts an even punchier, nuttier, toasty aroma than pre-ground cumin.

  • Ground coriander

    Use equal weight (1:1). Adds mild, lemony sweetness rather than cumin's smoky, earthy bite; curries will taste lighter and less savoury.

  • Black cumin seeds

    Grind finely; use 60% to 75% of the weight. Produces a darker, more complex, smoky-herbal flavour suited to rich gravies.

Ground coriander
  • Coriander seeds

    Dry-roast lightly in a pan and grind to a fine powder; use equal weight (1:1). Offers a noticeably fresher, brighter citrus note.

  • Ground cumin

    Use 50% to 75% of the weight. Lacks the floral, citrusy profile of coriander and turns the gravy heavier, earthier, and darker.

  • Garam masala

    Use 50% of the weight and stir in near the end of cooking. Adds warmth and depth since it contains ground coriander, but introduces stronger spices like clove and cinnamon.

Chicken on the bone
  • Bone-in chicken

    Use the same weight. It is the same thing; adjust pieces so they cook evenly and simmer until the meat is tender at the bone.

  • Skinless chicken on the bone

    Use the same weight. It is leaner and less rich; brown it a little more carefully and add 5 minutes to the simmer if the pieces are large.

  • Bone-in chicken thigh and drumstick

    Use the same weight. Thigh and drumstick are juicier and cook slightly faster than breast on the bone; check after 20–25 minutes.

Water
  • Stock

    Use the same weight in savoury dishes; it adds body, so adjust salt.

  • Milk

    Use the same weight only in doughs or creamy dishes; it makes the result richer.

  • Coconut water

    Use the same weight in curries or rice; it adds sweetness and a faint coconut taste.

Potato
  • Eggplant

    Use equal weight. Cut into large chunks; cooks down much faster (10-12 minutes) and softens into the sauce rather than staying starchy and firm.

  • Paneer

    Use 80% of the weight. Cube and add in the last 5-10 minutes of cooking; adds rich dairy protein instead of starchy bulk.

  • Dried chickpea

    Use 45% dry weight. Soak overnight and boil until fully soft before stirring into the sauce to simmer for 10 minutes.

Coriander
  • Coriander leaf

    Use equal weight, chopped fresh and stirred in off the heat or used as garnish. Matches the citrus-herbal profile identically.

  • Mint

    Use 40% to 50% of the weight; chop finely and add at the very end. Adds fresh herbal brightness, but shifts the aroma toward cool menthol.

Lemon juice
  • Lime juice

    Use equal volume or weight; delivers almost identical sharp acidity with a faintly more aromatic, bitter-edged profile.

  • Dried mango powder

    Use 25% of the weight (about 1 g amchoor for 4 g juice); provides clean fruity tartness without thinning the sauce.

  • White vinegar

    Use 75% of the volume; gives direct sourness without any citrus floral fragrance.

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Attirachi Perelan is savoury and spicy with a lightly creamy coconut-milk gravy, while this dish is savoury, lightly tangy and gently hot with a thin gravy.
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