Mughlai Chicken Curry

Mughlai chicken curry recipe with step by step photos and a video.  Mughlai chicken is a popular North Indian, restaurant-style chicken gravy that is rich, thick, creamy, and mildly spicy. This chicken curry is so aromatic and tastes absolutely amazing. You can serve it with Roti, Naan, Jeera rice, or steamed rice.

In this recipe post, I am sharing how to make Mughlai Chicken Curry. It is made with chicken, onions, cashews, almonds, ginger-garlic paste, spices, and curd/yogurt.

The chicken is cooked at low heat which makes it soft and tender. The gravy is made with a paste of brown onions and nuts that adds creaminess to this Mughlai dish. Overall you will love the aroma, smooth texture, and flavor of this royal Mughlai chicken.

You may also like these other popular Mughali recipes from this website:

• Chicken Korma
• Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani
• Hyderabadi Chicken Masala
• Chicken Pasanda
• Mughlai Paratha
• Hyderabadi Green Chicken

What is Mughlai chicken?

Mughlai chicken is a chicken curry from Mughlai cuisine. A delicious and creamy chicken curry cooked in onion-cashew-almond-based gravy.

Mughlai cuisine consists of dishes that were developed during the reign of the Mughal Empire. Basically, Mughlai cuisine is a mix of Persian cuisine and Indian cuisine.

Mughlai dishes were developed for the Royal family (Mughals) and the soldiers and hence there is heavy use of nuts (almonds & cashew nuts), milk, curd/yogurt, saffron, aromatic spices & clarified butter.

These Mughlai recipes, whether it is Mughlai biryani or curries have incredible taste and flavor. Popular Mughlai dishes include Biryani, Mughlai paratha, Chicken Korma, Chicken Curry, and many more.

Why You Need This Recipe

• Quick & easy to make - This north Indian chicken curry can be made easily at home. Just follow the step-by-step instructions and a delicious restaurant-style Mughali chicken curry is ready at home.
• Easy to customize – see the ingredient list below for alternative ingredients. You can add or skip the ingredients as per your taste.
• Make ahead recipe - You can make this chicken curry ahead of time. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Stays good for 2 days. Reheat and serve. The flavor matures with time. This curry tastes even better the next day.
• Freezer-friendly recipe.

Ingredients for Mughali Chicken

• Chicken - I used bone-in chicken. You can use any cut of the chicken like chicken thighs. You can even use boneless chicken to make this chicken curry. But bone in chicken gives the best flavor to the curry.
• Onions - I used red onions to make this curry. You can substitute it with yellow onions. Do not skip adding it as it is an important ingredient to make the curry base.
• Curd/Yogurt - Use thick curd or yogurt. It adds creaminess to the curry.
• Cashews and Almonds - They add creaminess to the gravy and make the gravy base thick. You can substitute cashews with almonds. Instead of adding half cashew and half almonds you can all almonds and vice-versa.
• Ghee/clarified butter - It gives a nice aroma to the dish. I added it in a small quantity for this recipe. You can increase or decrease the quantity as per your liking. But do not skip adding it.
• Oil - You can use any neutral flavor oil that has a high smoke point. I used sunflower oil.
• Whole spices - Cloves, cinnamon, black peppercorns, black cardamom, green cardamoms, mace, and bay leaves. You can skip one or two of the whole spices if you do not have them. Adding them to the chicken curry makes it more flavorful and aromatic.
• Flavoring - Salt, turmeric, chili powder, coriander powder, and cumin powder. I used two different red chili powders - Kashmiri red chili powder (gives bright red color and is less spicy) and spicy red chili powder (flavors the curry). You can skip Kashmiri red chili powder if you do not have it. But the color of the curry will be brown.
• Chicken masala powder - It is easily available in grocery stores or you can also purchase it online. It is the same as garam masala powder. Simply substitute it with any garam masala powder that you add to make non-vegetarian curries.
• Ginger and garlic paste - Basics of Indian cuisine. I used fresh ginger and garlic paste. You can substitute it with store-bought paste. It gives a nice flavor to the dish.
• Green chilies - This is optional. For making the restaurant-style curry, green chilies are added at the end. If you prefer less spicy simply skip adding it.
• Keora water - This gives a very nice aroma to this Mughlai chicken curry. Skip if you do not have it.
• Coriander leaves - Used to garnish the chicken curry.

For the detailed list of ingredients & their measurements, please check out the recipe card below.

How to make Mughlai chicken curry

Preparations

1. Soak cashew nuts and almonds in hot water for 15 minutes. Keep it aside.
2. Marinate the chicken with Kashmiri red chili powder, salt, turmeric, cumin powder, coriander powder, ginger-garlic paste, spicy red chili powder, and yogurt. Marinate for at least 30 minutes. Keep it aside.
3. Making birista (fried onions) - Heat ½ cup of oil in a deep bottom pan on medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add onion slices in small batches. Stir frequently and cook the onions until golden. Remove it on a plate lined with a paper napkin. You can skip this step and use store-bought birista.

   

Making Mughlai Chicken Curry

1. In the same pan, heat 2 tablespoon oil and 2 teaspoon ghee over low heat.
2. Add whole spices and sauté for a minute until aromatic.
3. Add chicken and stir to combine. Cover and cook it on low heat for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked. Stir it in between as required.
4. Divide the fried onions into two parts. ¾ part will be used to make a paste. The remaining ¼ part will be used later.
5. Transfer one part of the fried onions and the soaked cashew and almonds, to the mixer/grinder jar. Add little water and grind it to a fine paste. Keep it aside.
6. Crush the remaining fried onions and keep them aside.
7. After 15-20 minutes the chicken will be cooked. Oil will float on the surface of the gravy.
8. Add the fried onions and nuts paste, crushed onions, garam masala powder, green chilies, and keora water. Stir to combine.
9. Taste and add salt. Also, adjust the consistency of the gravy by adding water. Do not add too much water. This chicken dish has a thick gravy.
10. Cover and cook for 5 minutes on low heat. Remove from heat. Mughlai chicken is ready to serve.

    

11. Garnish with coriander leaves. Stir and keep it covered aside for 10 minutes.
12. Serve it with Roti, Naan, or steamed rice.

Cooking Tips

1. Soak the almonds and cashew nuts in hot water for 15 minutes. Soaking helps the almonds and cashews to become soft. After grinding, it gives the chicken gravy a smooth and creamy texture.
2. Marinate the chicken for a minimum of 30 minutes or overnight. The longer it marinates, the better it tastes. Cover and keep the marinated chicken in the refrigerator overnight.
3. While making birista, thinly slice the onions as it helps to cook them fast.
4. While frying the onions, first heat the oil on medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot then start frying the onions in batches. Keep stirring it continuously to avoid burning. When the onions start to become light brown then lower the heat and fry them stirring continuously for 2 more minutes or until golden.
5. Use fried onions (birista) in two parts. ¾ th of the fried onions will be used for making the paste (it will give a smooth texture to the gravy) and the remaining ¼ th will be used at the end. This will add some texture to the gravy.
6. Fry the marinated chicken on low heat. It will give the chicken a soft melt-in-the-mouth texture.
7. Do not serve this chicken curry immediately. Let it sit aside for 30 minutes to an hour. This chicken curry tastes even better the next day.

What to serve with Mughlai Chicken Curry?

Serve it with Roti, Naan, Parathas, Steamed rice, Jeera rice, or Biryani.

Storage Suggestion

• Store the chicken curry within 2 hours of cooking.
• Let the chicken curry come to room temperature. Transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate. Stays good for 2 days. Reheat and serve.
• This curry thickens after some time. Add a little water to the gravy, stir, and reheat until piping hot, and serve.
• This chicken curry freezes well. Stays good for a month. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator. Add a little water, cook until piping hot, and serve.

If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and a starred review below.

And, consider following me on social media so we can stay connected. I’m on Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube!

Print Pin

4.84 from 6 votes

Mughlai Chicken Curry (Mughlai Chicken)

Mughali chicken curry recipe with step by step photos and avideo.  Mughlai chicken is popular NorthIndian restaurant-style chicken gravy that is rich, thick, creamy and mildlyspicy. This chicken curry is so aromatic and tastes absolutely amazing. Youcan serve it with Roti, Naan, Jeera rice or steamed rice.

Course Main

Cuisine Mughlai

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Calories 413kcal

Author Preeti

Equipment

• 1 Heavy bottom pan or wok

Ingredients

To marinate the chicken:

• 700 gm chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
• ¾ cup Thick curd/yogurt dahi
• 2 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste, adrak lasan ka paste
• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder, Kashmiri lal mirch powder
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, haldi powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder, dhaniya powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder, jeera powder
• 1 teaspoon spicy red chili powder
• Salt to taste

To fry onions (birista):

• ½ cup oil
• 4 medium-size onions, thinly sliced

To make the onion paste:

• fried onions, (use ¾th quantity of the fried onions)
• 7 cashews, kaju
• 7 almonds, badam

Other ingredients:

• 2 teaspoon clarified butter, ghee
• 3 green chilies
• ½ teaspoon chicken masala powder or garam masala powder
• 2-3 drops of Keora water (optional)

Whole spices:

• 1 bay leaf (tej patta)
• 1- inch cinnamon stick (dalchini)
• 15 black peppercorns (kali mirch)
• 5 cloves (laung)
• 4 green cardamoms (choti elaichi)
• 1 black cardamom (badi elaichi)
• 1 petal of mace (javitri)

Instructions

Preparations

• Soak cashews and almonds in hot water for 15 minutes. Keep it aside.
• Marinate the chicken with Kashmiri red chili powder, salt, turmeric, cumin powder, coriander powder, ginger-garlic paste, spicy red chili powder, and yogurt. Marinate for at least 30 minutes. Keep it aside.
• Making birista (fried onions) - Heat ½ cup of oil in a deep bottom pan on medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add onion slices in small batches. Stir frequently and cook the onions until golden. Remove it on a plate lined with a paper napkin. You can skip this step and use store-bought birista.

Making Mughlai Chicken Curry

• In the same pan, heat 2 tablespoon oil and 2 teaspoon ghee over low heat.
• Add whole spices and sauté for a minute until aromatic.
• Add chicken and stir to combine. Cover and cook it on low heat for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked. Stir it in between as required.
• Divide the fried onions into two parts. ¾ part will be used to make a paste. The remaining ¼ part will be used later.
• Transfer one part of the fried onions and the soaked cashew and almonds, to the mixer/grinder jar. Add little water and grind it to a fine paste. Keep it aside.
• Crush the remaining fried onions and keep them aside.
• After 15-20 minutes the chicken will be cooked. Oil will float on the surface of the gravy.
• Add the fried onions and nuts paste, crushed onions, garam masala powder, green chilies, and keora water. Stir to combine.
• Taste and add salt. Also, adjust the consistency of the gravy by adding water. Do not add too much water. This chicken dish has a thick gravy.
• Cover and cook for 5 minutes on low heat. Remove from heat. Mughlai Chicken is ready to serve.
• Garnish with coriander leaves. Stir and keep it covered aside for 10 minutes.
• Serve it with Roti, Naan, or steamed rice.

Video

Notes

• Soak the almonds and cashew nuts in hot water for 15 minutes. Soaking helps the almonds and cashews to become soft. After grinding, it gives the chicken gravy a smooth and creamy texture.
• Marinate the chicken for a minimum of 30 minutes or overnight. The longer it marinates, the better it tastes. Cover and keep the marinated chicken in the refrigerator overnight.
• While making birista, thinly slice the onions as it helps to cook them fast.
• While frying the onions, first heat the oil on medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot then start frying the onions in batches. Keep stirring it continuously to avoid burning. When the onions start to become light brown then lower the heat and fry them stirring continuously for 2 more minutes or until golden.
• Use fried onions (birista) in two parts. ¾ th of the fried onions will be used for making the paste (it will give a smooth texture to the gravy) and the remaining ¼ th will be used at the end. This will add some texture to the gravy.
• Fry the marinated chicken on low heat. It will give the chicken a soft melt-in-the-mouth texture.
• Do not serve this chicken curry immediately. Let it sit aside for 30 minutes to an hour. This chicken curry tastes even better the next day.