This Chicken Shashlik is an Indo-Chinese gravy dish with a spicy, umami flavor made with seasoned chicken and crunchy vegetables served with steamed rice.
Indo-Chinese or Hakka Chinese foods are a favorite around here! The dishes are so flavorful, salty, sweet, tangy and comforting all at once!
If you’re craving restaurant-style Indo-Chinese food, this Chicken Shashlik gravy recipe is sure to cure those cravings.
Easy Chicken Shashlik Gravy Recipe
This Chicken Shashlik Gravy is a quick recipe, when you’re craving takeout.
We love this Chicken Shashlik gravy. It has been in our weeknight dinner rotation for years! It is:
- Quick and simple gravy recipe
- Sweet and tangy flavor, with crunchy vegetables and seasoned chicken
- Satisfies those Indo-Chinese takeout cravings
- Easy to serve with a side of rice
Recipes you’ll love
If you’re looking for more Indo-Chinese recipes , here are some of our favorites:
- Chicken Manchurian Gravy Recipe
- Chicken Corn Soup
- Vegetable Fried Rice
- Chicken 65: Fried Chicken in Chili Garlic Sauce
- Chicken Jalfrezi: Stir-Fry with Chicken and Bell Peppers
Ingredients & Notes
- Chicken – we prefer to use boneless, chicken breast for this recipe. You’ll need about 250 grams cut into 1-½“ cubes.
- Red chilli flakes – used in both the gravy, and the chicken marinade. You can adjust the quantity to your preference.
- Black and White Pepper powder – We marinate the chicken in these spices and also add them to the gravy. Both black and white pepper have a different flavor profile. Ideally, you’ll want to use both if you have them on hand.
- Soy sauce – this adds a classic, salty, umami flavor to the chicken shashlik.
- Fresh Vegetables – Red bell pepper, Green bell pepper, onion – These vegetables add crunch to the gravy. We recommend cutting them around the same size as the chicken and adding them immediately before serving the chicken shashlik gravy so they stay crunchy.
- Crushed tomato – help add a tangy flavour. using canned crushed tomato will give you the bright red color usually seen in Chicken Shashlik gravy.
- Cornstarch – a slurry made with cornstarch and water will help thicken the gravy.
How to make Chicken Shashlik?
Marinate the chicken
In a bowl, add the cubed chicken breast, along with 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes, 1 teaspoon black pepper powder, 1 teaspoon white pepper powder, salt and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Mix together and let the chicken marinate for 20-30 minutes.
Cook the chicken
In a pot on medium heat, add chicken and cook till its no longer pink cover and cook for a few minutes till the excess liquid has evaporated and the chicken is cooked.
Transfer the chicken to a plate to use later.
Prepare the cornstarch slurry
In a bowl, mix together the cornstarch with half a cup of water until it forms a smooth paste.
Chicken Shashlik Gravy
Turn the heat down to low to medium heat. Add the crushed tomato, remaining red chilli flakes, black pepper powder, white pepper powder, soy sauce, and ½ to 1 cup of water.
Bring the liquids to a simmer, then add the cornstarch slurry and cook for a couple of minutes until the mixture thickens to a gravy consistency.
Mix in the cooked chicken and the carrots, bell peppers and onions until coated with the sauce.
Turn off the heat, and cover with a lid for 5 minutes.
Tips and Serving Suggestions
- Ideally, the vegetables should stay crunchy for chicken shashlik. We recommend adding the vegetables right before serving to keep the vegetables crunchy.
- You can replace the vegetables with others that you have on hand.
- Chicken Shashlik gravy can be stored in the fridge for 3-5 days.
We love this chicken shashlik served over some plain, steamed rice. You can also use fried rice, if you prefer.
If you’re looking for some appetizers to serve with this chicken shashlik gravy, here are some of our favorite appetizers:
- Chicken Corn Soup
- Beef Sausage Rolls with Puff Pastry
- Aloo Pakora – Sliced Potato Fritters
- Chicken Puffs: Pakistani Style Chicken Patties
If you give this recipe a try, we’d love to see it! Tag us on Instagram @thespicemess
Chicken Shashlik
Ingredients
- 1 piece chicken breast /250 grams approx cut into 1-½ “ cube pieces
- 2 teaspoon red chilli flakes
- 2 teaspoon black pepper powder
- 2 teaspoon white pepper powder
- Salt as per taste
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 red bell pepper cut into 1″ cubes
- 1 green bell pepper cut into 1″ cubes
- 1 small onion cut into 1″ cubes
- 1 carrot cut into 1″ cubes
- 2 tablespoon corn starch
- ½- ¾ cup crushed tomato
- ¼ cup neutral oil
- 1 cup rice
Instructions
Marinate the chicken
- In a bowl, add the cubed chicken breast, along with 1 teaspoon red chili flakes, 1 teaspoon black pepper powder, 1 teaspoon white pepper powder, salt and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Mix together and let the chicken marinate for 20-30 minutes.
Cook the chicken
- In a pot on medium heat, add chicken and cook till its no longer pink cover and cook for a few minutes till the excess liquid has evaporated and the chicken is cooked.
- Transfer the chicken to a plate to use later.
Prepare the cornstarch slurry
- In a bowl, mix together the cornstarch with half a cup of water until it forms a smooth paste.
Make the gravy
- Turn the heat down to low to medium heat. Add the crushed tomato, remaining red chilli flakes, black pepper powder, white pepper powder, soy sauce, and ½ to 1 cup of water. Bring the liquids to a simmer, then add the cornstarch slurry and cook for a couple of minutes until the mixture thickens to a gravy consistency.
Chicken Shashlik Gravy
- Mix in the cooked chicken and the vegetables, bell peppers and onions until coated with the sauce.
- Turn off the heat, and cover with a lid for 5 minutes.
- Serve with boiled or steamed rice.