Nauratan means colorful in Urdu, and I planned to name this dish, just that, owing to the colors that pop through the dish. From the spicy red gravy made from yogurt, tomato and roasted spices, to the greens and yellows from charred capsicum and potatoes, with the subtle white from chopped onions, and a peekaboo from browned chicken, it definitely is “colorful”. It’s the perfecttttt amalgamation of veggies and chicken with the spice level that brown moms would be proud of! and OHHH so yum! The masala in this dish is towards the saucy side rather than thin gravy types. Let’s say similar to chicken karhayi in consistency.
Why you HAVE to try making Nauratan Chicken today!
It’s budget friendly because a 1/2 kg chicken can serve 4 to 5 people easilyAwesome dish to add as a side/ or as a dish with less gravy for elaborate menus.Works well with alll carb sides, And i mean parathas, rotis, naans, breads, rice, pulaos and even spicy rices like Tahiris etcDid I mention its ready in roughly around 30 mins ?Also super easy! and has room for soooo many variations (see end of post for ideas)p.s I’ve also had this with quinoa and couscous as a side, and lets just say….WOW!
The 3 main steps to make Nauratan chicken.
Making the spice mix Making the chicken gravy Preparing the vegetables.
Making the spice mix
The spice mix is pretty simple to make. It has cumin seeds, coriander seeds and whole red chilies, similar to a Dahi bara masala but with a different ratio. You are simply going to roast all of these at medium flame until the coriander seeds turn to a nice golden brown color and your kitchen smells like a real chef is at work. Once you get to that stage, turn of the flame and run it through a chopper to get nice coarse spice mix. (semi-grounded) That completes our stage 1 of launch preparations!
Making the chicken gravy
This part is going to start off as any other Pakistani or Indian curry does. With oil, chopped onions and whole cumin seeds. Once you take your onions for a tan and turn them golden brown, go ahead and add the boneless chicken, ginger garlic paste, salt and the spice mix you prepared. Give it a nice toss and turn at medium high flame just until the chicken turns white. Next, drop in a generous quantity of tomato paste and yogurt. You can also use fresh tomatoes instead of tomato paste. Add about 1/2 cup of water and cover your chicken and let it simmer at medium low flame for about 10 mins. It will look something like this after 10 mins with a generous amount of curry in the pan as well. Turn off the flame and move on to the next step.
Preparing the veggies
Cut potatoes in medium sized cubes (similar to the size of your chicken cubes). Par boil these in salt water for about 5 to 6 mins (they should be 80% cooked) Strain them and proceed to the second last stage of this misson. These are all the veggies that go into this dish. But by all means feel free to be creative, and try other combinations that your imagination inspires. Toss in the capsicum, potatoes and onions in a frying pan with about 2 tbsp of oil and saute them at high heat until you get a nice caramelized color going on.
Toss these caramelized gorgeousss beauties into your chicken gravy and heat for about 2 to 3 mins. Top with crushed black pepper and garam masala powder. You my friend have THE most versatile dish in your hand right now. Serve it warm with pretty much any carb side you can think. You can also smoke it from some extra kick.
Alternates, Fixes and remixes
Tomato paste – If you don’t want to use tomato use, use tomato puree of fresh tomatoes (1/2 cup puree = 1 tbsp tomato paste)
This recipe is definitely on the spicier side, if it is too hot for you, here are 2 things you can do:1. Reduce the number of whole red chilies from the start.2. If you feel its too spicy AFTER completing the dish, just add 1/2 a cup of yogurt and don’t cook it for more than 2 3 mins. You’ll be set
I’ve made this recipe atleast 3 dozen times with sooooo many variations. I’ve made it with boneless beef chunks, mutton and minced meat as well (the coarsely ground type not the finely ground type) – If you plan to make this dish with beef or mutton, you’ll have to cook the meat and mutton for longer with water (for about atleast 30 to mins) before you can start adding veggies. And also double the quantity of tomato paste used in the recipe.
Smoke it up! Ok so on several occasions I’ve smoked the completed dish with a bit of coal and OH MY GAWD! phenomenal! I haven’t added coal to the main recipe because it tastes pretty darn good without the coal itself! But I’d definitely recommend you to try it with the smoke too! The spices just respond really well to the smoke.
What to do with left overs?
This left over curry goess realllyyy well in a sub! with a little mayo, salad leaves and Dijon mustard!Use it as a filling for your tortilla wraps!
If you try this recipe! Let me know what you think! you can also tag me with your recreations on my Instagram account @butteroverbae
Nauratan Chicken Recipe
