By Dhrubaa Mukherjee 18 Comments
Chicken Bharta is a famous Indian dhaba-style chicken which is cooked in a rich and creamy gravy enhanced with aromatic spices and cream. This one of the most delicious chicken curry recipes ever! Serve it with either rice or paratha or naan.
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It was a very good year for friendships, both old and new. Friends at grad school, friends at dance rehearsals, blogger friends, neighbor friends; it was an exuberant year of friendship. Between my frequent trips to India and travels all over the US, I made friends, good friends, in the most unusual places/situations—on a shuttle bus to the airport, on a 12 hours long flight with a dysfunctional in-flight entertainment system, at an airport cafe as I sat alone staring at my empty beer glass while waiting for the connecting flight, and at the George Bush International Airport as I was being momentarily held due to bureaucratic inefficiencies. Friends from Dubai, Barcelona, Berlin, and Lahore. And it appears that thanks to Viber, Whatsapp, and Facebook, our friendships will withstand the threats of time and distance till we meet again. I also managed to stop over at Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Vishakhapatnam, and Hyderabad (in addition to Kolkata) to meet up with several of my old friends.
Photo courtesy: Yonatan Aljadeff
Yesterday, as I sat at my desk looking through the pictures of the times spent with my friends, outlining a chocolate cake recipe in my head, and devising a blog post to dedicate to them, I realizedthat, during my recent visits to India, most of the time with my friends was spent in the dhabas around the airports in all these cities eating chicken bharta and tea. Dhabasare these bucolic roadside (highway truck stop) restaurants in India that are always open. They mostly serve (dhabas in certain regions of the country also serve more simplistic eggs and lentil-based dishes) heavily spiced northwest frontier cuisinecooked in tandoor ovens, and are popular for their vibrant and musical atmospheres and economical rates.
Photo courtesy: C. Frank Starmer (edited from original)
I lovedhabasbecause of their awesome food, because of their charcoal-burning-clay-ovens with their incessant orange blobs of fire that glow like the sun in the dark, because of theircharpoys, because of theirlassis,because of their indiscriminate use of butter, and because of the endless whistling of their aluminum kettles overflowing withmasala chai. Because when I meet a friend after ages, brimming with excitement and long-kept secrets and gossips, all Ineed is a 24 hours open restaurant and a frequently replenished cup of tea. Furthermore, all airports have a nearbydhabamaking themeasily accessible places for the always-on-a-time-crunch kind of traveler like me.Although, the quick service time at these dhabas, the ceaseless commotion, and the continuous noise of the aircraft engines flying over our heads are a continuous reminder of thetransient nature of thesemeetings.
Dhabas are fundamental tofriendships in India. We all have memories of that oneday/night when we bunked school/college and went to the localdhaba,because that’s the only place we could afford then, and chicken bhartawas the only thing we (only me?) liked to eat then. Therefore, on friendship daythere is nothing I want to eat more than chicken bharta.This recipe comes directly from the Azad Hind Dhaba kitchen. Dotry it. And if you have stories aboutdhabasthat you would like to share with us, then leave a comment. 🙂
Best Indian chicken bharta recipe
Chicken Bharta is a famous Indian dhaba-style chicken which is cooked in a rich and creamy gravy enhanced with aromatic spices and cream. This one of the most delicious chicken curry recipes ever! Serve it with either rice or paratha or naan.
5 from 8 votes
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Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 45 minutes mins
Course entree, Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp oil
- 6 cardamoms
- 6 cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 large onion very finely chopped
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 2 green chilies chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes finely chopped
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 250 grams boneless chicken approximately 8 oz, cut into bite size pieces
- salt to taste
- 4 tbsp cashew paste
- 1/4 cup fresh cream
- 1/4 cup yogurt beaten with a little water
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp kasoori methi dried fenugreek
- cilantro for garnish
- 2 tbsp fresh cream for garnish
- 1 boiled egg halved
Instructions
Heat oil in a pan and add bay leaf, cloves and cardamoms. Give it a stir and after about thirty seconds add chopped onions and sauté over medium heat until it turns golden brown, about 12-15 minutes.
Add ginger and garlic paste and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
In a small bowl mix the powdered spices with 3 tbsp of water and add to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes, or until oil separates.
Next add tomatoes and green chilies and cook, turning the heat up, till the tomatoes turn soft and oil starts to separate again, about 5-6 minutes.
Add chicken and cook covered over medium heat until done. Should take about 5-6 minutes.
Add cashew paste and cook for 2-3 more minutes.
Now turn the heat down again, and slowly add whisked yogurt while stirring continuously. Cook for another 10-15 minutes over low heat.
Add salt before turning off heat.
Finish with cream, butter and kasoori methi.
Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with cilantro, boiled eggs and fresh cream.
Serve with rice or roti and pickled onions and green chutney.
Nutrition
Calories: 506kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 25gFat: 37gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 146mgSodium: 258mgPotassium: 692mgFiber: 4gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 901IUVitamin C: 15mgCalcium: 108mgIron: 3mg
Keyword Chicken bharta, chicken curry, Indian chicken recipe
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Other chicken recipes that you will love
- Chicken curry recipe
- Restaurant-style chicken korma in slow cooker
- Restaurant-style butter chicken
- Chicken tandoori
- Chicken tikka masala
- Chilli chicken
- Restaurant style saag chicken
- Chicken chaanp
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About me
Dhrubaa Mukherjee--An academic by profession, a contributor to Huffington Post, a dancer by passion, a compulsive foodie, a former flight attendant, and a constant traveler, I am, what they call, a transnational gourmand (gourmet?). I am not only fascinated by the tastes, colors, textures and aromas of food, I am equally intrigued by the histories, traditions and cultural inter-junctions that drive/influence recipes.
Comments
paramita chakrabortyThe preparation looks yummy… ur brilliant presentation and writing style prove you are a star of literature (y) last but not the least I love dhabas.. and ur writing brings back so many old gold memories! 😀
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I’m not that much of a online reader to be honest but your sites really nice, keep it up!
I’ll go ahead and bookmark your website to come back in the future.
Many thanksReply
- Matti
Absolutely delicious! I did increase the chili pepper content a bit, but the other spice notes were right on. It is a very rich dish though (cashew, butter, etc)…
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- Dhrubaa Mukherjee
Yes, it sure is. Whenever I make this dish or other such rich dishes, I make it a point to serve sweet raitas alongside. That balances a lot of the richness and spiciness. Thank you for leaving a comment. Keep coming back. 🙂
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Onek din dhore ekta bhalo bharta recipe khujchhilam. Thanks for coming to the rescue! 🙂
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- Prarthana Ghosh
So I am food-rookie and I am going out on a limb to try this today. I am so steeped in my commitment that I actually made the trip to whole foods to get cashew paste…Lol! thats saying a lot about my commitment. Will let you know how it sat with the man…
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- Dhrubaa Mukherjee
So excited for you! 🙂
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Wish I could give it 10 stars!! It was FABULOUS!! My very picky DH LOVED it, and my 15 year old son, a connoisseur of all things food, LOVED it as well and wants me to make it EVERY WEEK!! I doubled the sauce, but only added 1/4 tsp of red pepper as we don’t like things too spicy. It was PERFECTLY seasoned, with plenty of sauce to spread over the rice. Will most definitely make this regularly. Have already shared it with many friends! Thanks for sharing it!
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- Dhrubaa Mukherjee
Thanks, Andrev! I am glad your family enjoyed it. 🙂
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Great! Definate kick from the red pepper! I thickened the sauce with some cornstarch. And added some chopped green onion and cilantro the last minute! YUM! I’ll make this one again for sure.
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- Dona Mitra
Eating at dhabas were always special. Have fond memories of eating at local dhabas on our way to Darjeeling. The smell of fresh cooked food with its rustic feel makes it more special ! And undoubtedly chicken bharta is one Dhaba special that I always order along with Tadka dal, dal makhani. Sadly, one of my favorite dhabas closed down recently..Our very own The Dhaba @Ballygunje. But to compensate for that, I made it today. And am proud of myself ! Tastes absolutely Dhaba style ! Lip smacking. !
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- Prajokta Ray
dhruba di, this is so well written. Recipe’s are very nice on their own, but your story telling verse with regard to each dish, is more nice, if thats even an expression
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- Dhrubaa Mukherjee
Haha! Thank you, Prajokta! <3
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- Michelle S.
We tried this delicious recipe and loved it! I foresee it becoming a regular dish at our place. Thank you for this and for your gorgeous blog!
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- Alefiya
This is such an excellent recipe and so easy to prepare. I have made it multiple times now and it is always a sure shot hit whether it is with the kids and partner or served to guests. Thank you so much. I wish I could give it an even higher rating😊Reply
- Dhrubaa Mukherjee
That makes me so happy! <3
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