This Chicken Ka Salan or chicken curry is a classic Pakistani dish made with chicken and potatoes simmered in a basic sauce of tomatoes, onions, and lots of aromatic spices.
This chicken curry is made with basic ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.
But believe us, there is nothing basic about this curry. It can be the answer to your weeknight dinner, lifting your spirits after a long day. Or perfect for a special weekend meal.
A little about the Chicken Ka Salan
This Chicken Salan or Chicken Curry is the most basic curry most Pakistanis make.
The ingredients feature the usual ingredients in most Pakistani curries:
- Whole spices – We use whole black pepper, cloves, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, and black cardamom for whole spices here. The whole spices are the base for the aromatics and are added at the beginning of the cooking process.
- Ground spices – coriander powder, cumin powder, red chili, and turmeric round out the rest of the spices in this curry. We add the ground spices a little later in the cooking process so that they don’t burn.
- Ginger Garlic Paste – This is a popular addition to lots of Pakistani and Indian dishes. It is made with equal parts of crushed ginger and crushed garlic. If you opt to make your own, you can make a big batch ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for about two weeks.
- Tomatoes – Canned crushed tomatoes or a few fresh tomatoes are both good choices for this recipe. If you’re lusting after that deep brown chicken curry color, we recommend using canned tomatoes for a richer color.
- Onions – Both fresh onions and fried onions are good options for this curry. The recipe does take longer if you plan to use fresh onions as they need to be fried first.
Tips for Pakistani Chicken Curry Recipe
If you’ve been looking to start cooking Pakistani food, this chicken curry is a great place to start!
It has some basic pantry ingredients, and spices that are used in many other dishes.
The secret to a good Chicken Salan or Chicken Curry comes down to the technique.
The cooking technique used in this curry is “bhuna”. You’ll see it often in other curry recipes.
What is Bhuna?
Bhuna is a cooking technique where spices and other ingredients (like tomatoes and onions in our curry) are fried in hot oil until they have formed a paste. This helps the ingredients really shine and bring out their best flavors.
Here are some tips to make your best chicken curry:
- Be Patient – As you go through the recipe, don’t rush it. Each ingredient needs its time to be introduced to the curry, and then reach its peak before the next ingredient is added. The end result of the curry base is a jam-like consistency of the onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, and other spices.
- Temperature matters – In the recipe below, we’ve noted the stovetop temperature you should aim for at different points in the cooking process. Whole spices start out at a low temperature. Once the rest of the ingredients are added in, cooking at a higher temperature will help the spices reach their optimal flavor. And then the curry is simmered at a low heat at the end for the chicken and potatoes to finish cooking.
What to serve with Chicken Salan
Garnish your chicken curry with some cilantro, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
This Pakistani chicken curry recipe pairs well with both rice and any Pakistani/Indian bread.
We recommend serving it with either
Want to try other classic Pakistani Curry Recipes?
- Karahi Chicken: Chicken in Spicy Tomato Sauce
- Kofta Curry: Pakistani Beef Meatball Curry
- Korma: Chicken braised in a Yogurt sauce
If you give this recipe a try, we’d love to see it! Tag us on Instagram @thespicemess
Ready to make Chicken Ka Salan?
Chicken Salan: Pakistani Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 1 Full chicken or 6-8 drumsticks or bone-in pieces
- 4-6 Black pepper whole
- 2-3 Cloves
- 1 Bay leaf
- 1 Cinnamon stick ½-inch in length
- 1 Black Cardamom
- 1 Onion large chopped or ¾ cup fried onion
- 1 tablespoon Ginger garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon Coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon Cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon Red chilli powder
- ½-1 teaspoon Turmeric
- 2-4 Green chilli chopped depending on the heat
- 2-3 Potatoes medium, cut into 6-8 pieces each big pieces
- 3-4 Tomatoes chopped roughly or 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup Oil
- Salt as per taste
Instructions
- To a large pot, add 1/2 cup of oil.
- If using fresh onions, increase heat to medium, and fry the onions till golden brown, being careful not to burn. If you’re using fried onions skip this step.
- Add the whole spices and let them bloom till fragrant
- Add the bone-in chicken and ginger garlic paste. increase the heat to medium-high heat and cook till chicken is no longer pink
- Add all the ground spices and the chopped green chili and cook well for few minutes.
- Add fried onions, if using, and mix well till it’s all blended
- Next, add tomatoes (fresh or chopped). If the mixture is dry, add ¼ cup water.
- Keep stirring on medium-high heat until the onions and tomatoes have cooked down to a jammy consistency.
- Once the sauce is cooked, add the cubed potatoes, saute for a few minutes.
- Then, add at least 2 cups of water. The potatoes should be submerged in the water.
- Cover and simmer on low heat until once potatoes are fork tender and oil floats to the top, about 15-30 minutes.
- Garnish with cilantro and lemon. Serve with roti/paratha/naan, and rice plain or vagara rice.