Chicken Handi

Chicken Handi is a creamy Pakistani curry with a smooth tomato and yogurt gravy, and a medium heat. It tastes like the one from your favorite restaurant, and there's plenty of sauce for tearing into with Garlic Naan - Indian Flatbread.

It's milder and saucier than a karahi, the chicken stays soft, and the gravy has a little tang from the yogurt. It's done in one pot in under an hour, and it's the curry I make when we have people over.

You don't need any special ingredients for making this dish, just chicken thighs, onions, tomatoes, yogurt and the spices in your cupboard. It tastes even better the next day, so you can make it ahead and reheat it when everyone arrives.

Serve it with naan or plain rice and a bowl of Onion Raita, and you've got a proper curry night at home.

What is Chicken Handi?

Chicken handi, or murgh handi, is a creamy chicken curry from Pakistan and North India. It's named after the handi, a deep clay or copper pot with a wide mouth.

Restaurants make it with boneless chicken in a smooth tomato, yogurt and cream gravy, with green chilies on top.

Why This Recipe Works?

• It tastes like the handi from a Pakistani restaurant, with no complicated steps and no special equipment.

• The heat is easy to adjust, so it works for children and for people who want it hot.

• It's rich enough for a dinner party and light enough for a weeknight.

• Boneless thighs cook in 20 minutes and stay soft, so nobody is chewing through dry chicken.

• It's gluten free, and with rice it suits anyone who can't eat bread.

• I always get asked for the recipe when I cook this for friends.

Ingredients You'll Need

Please scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredients list with measurements, complete recipe method, recipe notes, and nutritional information.

• Chicken - Boneless thighs are the best choice, as they stay soft in the gravy. Breast dries out fast. Cut it into big pieces, add it later, and give it 15 minutes on low at most. Bone-in chicken adds body to the gravy and needs longer, see the variations.

• Onion - Brown or white onions, diced small so they melt into the gravy. Cook them until soft and golden, not dark, as browned ones fight with this much tomato.

• Tomatoes - Ripe ones, as they're most of the gravy. Roma or beefsteak are good. A tin of chopped tomatoes works in winter, with a pinch of sugar to take the edge off the acidity.

• Tomato paste - It deepens the color, and it rescues pale winter tomatoes. Turkish or Middle Eastern shops sell a good one, and any supermarket tube does the job.

• Ghee - Clarified butter, and it's what gives the gravy its restaurant richness. Vegetable oil works if you don't have any, and the taste is a little plainer.

• Ginger garlic paste - The jar kind is fine, and a freshly grated one tastes better. Use equal amounts of each if you make your own, and my Ginger Garlic Paste shows you how.

• Yogurt - Plain natural yogurt or Greek yogurt, whisked smooth. I use my own, from How to Make Homemade Greek Yogurt. It goes into the marinade and the gravy.

• Spices - Cumin seeds and ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, garam masala, and red chili powder or flakes. For the deep red you see in restaurants, use the Kashmiri kind, which gives the color without the heat.

• Kasuri methi - Dried fenugreek leaves, from any Asian shop or online. They go in at the end, crushed between your palms. Fenugreek seeds and ground fenugreek taste nothing like the leaves, so there's no swap for this one.

• Cream - Double cream, stirred in at the end. The single cream is fine, and so is a spoonful of cashew paste if you'd rather skip it.

How to Make Chicken Handi?

Marinate the Chicken

In a mixing bowl, combine the yogurt, turmeric, garam masala and salt. Mix well.

Add the boneless chicken thighs to the yogurt marinade and coat them evenly. Cover and set aside for at least 30 minutes, or overnight in the fridge.

Prepare the Curry

In a Dutch oven or a heavy-based pan, melt the ghee over medium heat. Add the diced onions and sauté until golden brown.

Stir in the ginger garlic paste and cumin seeds, and sauté gently for a minute.

Add cumin powder, garam masala, coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder, and salt along with tomato paste.

Cook for a minute until fragrant, then add the chopped tomatoes. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until they break down and the ghee starts to separate at the edges. The masala turns glossy when it's ready.

Turn the heat down to low. Add the yogurt, whisked smooth and at room temperature, and stir it in gently until the gravy is smooth. Low heat here is what stops it curdling.

Add the marinated chicken to the pan.

Stir well, cover the pan and cook on low for 15 to 20 minutes. The chicken should be cooked through and soft.

Stir in the double cream and the kasuri methi, crushed between your palms. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.

Finish it the way the restaurants do. Scatter over sliced green chilies, a few strips of julienned ginger and a handful of chopped coriander. Add a swirl of cream over the top just before it goes to the table.

Recipe Tips From the Chef

• Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes, or overnight if possible in the fridge. Yogurt is gentle, so it won't turn the meat mushy the way lemon does.

• Cook the tomatoes until the ghee separates and the masala looks glossy, about 15 to 20 minutes. It's the step most people rush, and a raw-tasting base never comes right later.

• Taste it again once the cream is in. It softens both the heat and the salt, so the curry usually needs another pinch.

• If the chicken feels tough, add a splash of water and simmer it a few minutes longer. Do this before the cream goes in.

• If it comes out hotter than you wanted, stir in a splash of milk at the end. A spoonful of yogurt does the same job.

• Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes off the heat before serving. The gravy thickens a little and the chicken soaks up the sauce.

• Making it ahead for guests? Stop before the cream and kasuri methi, and add them with the garnish when you reheat it.

• If you're using a cast iron pot, keep the heat low. It holds a lot of heat, and the bottom burns before the tomatoes have had time to cook down.

Variations

Restaurants each have their own handi, and these are the things they add. Pick one or two, not all of them.

• Restaurant order - Most Karachi cooks fry the chicken with the ginger garlic paste first, until it changes color. Then they build the sauce around it, and the meat picks up a bit more taste.

• Smooth gravy - For the silky restaurant texture, put the cooked onion and tomato base in a blender with the yogurt. Blend it smooth before the chicken goes in. The yogurt cools the base as it blends, so it can't curdle.

• Cashew or almond paste - Soak a handful of cashews or blanched almonds in hot water for 20 minutes. Blend them smooth with a splash of the water and stir the paste in with the cream. This is the shahi handi, and it's the creamiest version.

• Butter finish - Stir a knob of cold butter into the gravy right at the end, off the heat. It gives a glossy, rounder sauce, and that's the makhni handi.

• Coconut powder - Pakistani restaurants often stir in a little coconut milk powder once the ghee separates. Desiccated coconut does the same, and it adds a little sweetness.

• White handi - Leave out the tomatoes and the chili powder, and season it with white pepper instead. Thicken it with yogurt, cream and some ground almonds. Pakistani barbecue restaurants serve this as safed handi.

• Achari handi - Stir a couple of spoonfuls of mixed pickle, achar, in with the yogurt. Add a pinch of fennel and nigella seeds with the cumin, and it comes out sharp and tangy.

• Bone-in chicken - Use a whole chicken cut into curry pieces and give it 25 to 30 minutes under the lid. The bones add body to the gravy.

• Smoky - For the dhaba taste, put a piece of glowing charcoal in a small bowl on top of the finished curry. Drop a little ghee on it and cover the pot for 2 minutes.

What to Serve with Chicken Handi?

We eat chicken handi with bread more than with rice. My Garlic Naan - Indian Flatbread or Pakistani Roghni Naan are the ones I make most often. Peshwari Naan is good if you like a sweet bread with a hot curry. Chapati is fine, and so is Easy Guyanese Oil Roti Recipe, a flaky roti from the Caribbean.

With rice, keep it plain: Mushroom Rice Recipe or Turmeric Rice Recipe both go under the gravy without fighting it.

On the side, a bowl of Onion Raita cools the heat. A plate of kachumber, chopped onion, tomato and cucumber with lemon and salt, cuts through the cream.

Sliced raw onion, lemon wedges and papadums are what you'd get in a Pakistani restaurant.

If you want a starter, Crispy Onion Bhaji (Pakora) Recipe is the one. Keema Naan turns it into a bigger meal.

Storage and Make Ahead Instructions

Let the curry cool, then keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Don't leave it out for more than two hours before it goes in.

It freezes for up to 3 months. Yogurt gravies can go watery in the freezer, which is why some cooks don't freeze them. Thaw it in the fridge overnight and whisk the gravy as it warms, and it comes back together.

To reheat, put it in a pan over low heat with a splash of water or stock. Cover it and warm it gently, stirring now and then.

In the microwave, cover the bowl and heat it in short bursts, stirring in between, so the cream doesn't split. If it looks thin, let it bubble uncovered for a couple of minutes at the end.

Recipe FAQs

Related Recipes

For more curry recipes why not try:

Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.

I hope you enjoy making this creamy Chicken Handi as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂