Lahori Chicken Karahi

Ingredients

• 1 kg bone-in chicken, jointed into 12 curry pieces
• 150 ml ghee or neutral oil
• 2 tbsp garlic paste
• 700 g ripe tomatoes, quartered
• 4 green chillies, slit lengthways
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds, coarsely crushed
• 1 tsp cumin seeds, coarsely crushed
• 1 tsp black peppercorns, coarsely crushed
• 1 tsp red chilli flakes
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp full-fat plain yogurt, whisked smooth
• 5 cm piece ginger, cut into fine matchsticks
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• small handful coriander leaves

Before you cook

• Joint the chicken into small curry pieces, keeping the bones in for flavour.
• Quarter the tomatoes and leave the skins on.
• Crush the coriander seeds, cumin seeds and peppercorns coarsely in a mortar, keeping them gritty rather than powdered.
• Peel the ginger and cut it into fine matchsticks.
• Whisk the yogurt until it is completely smooth and lump-free.
• Slit the green chillies from tip to stalk without cutting them in half.

Steps

1. Heat the ghee in a wide karahi or heavy frying pan over high heat until it shimmers.
2. Add the garlic paste and stir it for 30 seconds, until it smells sweet rather than raw.
3. Tip in the chicken pieces and fry them hard for 8 minutes, turning, until the outsides are pale gold.
4. Add the tomatoes, the salt and the chilli flakes, then cover the pan.
5. Cook covered over medium heat for 12 minutes, until the tomato skins lift away and the flesh collapses.
6. Uncover the pan and pull out the loose tomato skins with tongs.
7. Raise the heat and stir constantly for 10 minutes, until the oil separates and pools bright red at the edges.
8. Lower the heat, spoon in the whisked yogurt and stir for 2 minutes so it melts in without splitting.
9. Scatter over the crushed coriander, cumin and black pepper along with the slit green chillies.
10. Cook for 4 more minutes, pressing the chicken down into the masala so each piece takes a glaze.
11. Taste for salt and stir in the lemon juice.
12. Turn off the heat and cover the surface with the ginger matchsticks, garam masala and coriander leaves.
13. Rest the pan for 3 minutes, then serve straight from the karahi with hot naan.