Chicken (Murgh) Kolhapuri Curry
Chicken kolhapuri is a delicious Maharashtrian curry; toasted spices, onion and tomato form a marinade before being used to cook chicken legs.
This curry will take a couple of hours to prepare and cook, but it is an excellent dish to prepare in advance. Both the marinade and the cooked curry can be made well in advance.
Murgh Kolhapuri
If you have spent any time perusing my site, you will know that I am fond of the "occasional" Indian curry!
I've got dozens of them that range from the obvious inclusions like chicken tikka masala and lamb madras to dishes that are rarely seen on takeaway menus like kottu roti and kaleji masala.
This chicken kolhapuri recipe falls into that latter camp, and it's a crying shame, because it is a bit of a stunner.
It features bone-in chicken simmered in a sauce that is made from toasted spices, herbs and seeds.
The broad combination of ingredients like mace, coconut, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, cardamom and cinnamon gives this dish a real punch on the flavour front.
Kashmiri chilli gives the dish more than a little punch of heat. But it is far from a fiery dish, and it is perfectly balanced.
This is not a difficult dish to make, but it does have a long ingredient list that may intimidate many. But don't get shaken; take the recipe step by step and in a couple of hours, you'll be tucking into the most incredible curry!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use boneless chicken?
Yes, but you will need to play with the cooking time a little, and because of that, the sauce will not develop quite as much flavour.
I would use chicken thigh meat and cook it for 20 minutes at step 13. Then cook it at a higher temperature when you remove the lid to reduce the sauce quicker.
Can I use skinless chicken?
Yes, the skin on the chicken legs will not crisp up in this recipe, and I appreciate that the texture of that is not for everyone.
I happen to love it, and the fats in the skin add a load of flavour to this recipe. But if the texture is not your thing and you want to cut the calories, fill your boots, remove the skin!
How hot is this curry?
This is always a tricky question to answer because everyone's tolerance to chilli is very different.
Generally speaking, I would consider this to be a moderately hot curry. There are no fresh chillies, and both dried Kashmiri chillies and Kashmiri chilli powder are fairly mild.
You can increase or decrease the heat by lifting or dropping the amount of chilli used.
Can I make this in advance?
Yes... In fact, I would go as far as saying please do! This dish definitely improves with a night in the fridge.
It will be fine in the fridge for 2-3 days, and it will freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost before reheating for the best results.
Serving Suggestions
I've served my chicken kolhapuri curry with some simply cooked plain basmati rice in the pictures on this page. There is plenty of sauce and, as a result, flavour knocking around to make it work!
Of course, you could always add an extra layer of flavour and serve this curry with a tasty pilau rice.
Flatbreads are always a great idea with a curry, and despite the meat being cooked on the bone, still work with this recipe due to the amount of that beautiful sauce.
I would normally opt for a tandoori style naan bread with a fairly thick sauce like this, but chapatis would work equally well.
Potatoes also work surprisingly well with this recipe; something like my jeera aloo or aloo methi would be fantastic.
Equipment Used
I only mention specific brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Hob/stovetop.
- 28cm or 11" frying pan, with a lid.
- 20cm or 8" frying pan.
- Stirring and serving spoons.
- Chopping board.
- Kitchen knife.
- Mini blender.
- Weighing scales and measuring spoons.
Chicken (Murgh) Kolhapuri Curry Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Medium Chicken Legs 600g
- 2 tablespoon Cooking Oil
- 1 Medium-Large Tomato 150g
- 2 teaspoon Kashmiri Chilli Powder
- ¾ teaspoon Ground Turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 Handful Fresh Coriander
- 250 ml Water
For the Curry Paste:
- 1 Large Onion 250g
- 1 Medium-Large Tomato 150g
- 3 Garlic Cloves
- 15 g Ginger ½ thumb-sized piece
- 1 tablespoon Cooking Oil
- 4 Dried Kashmiri Chilli Peppers (adjust this to taste)
- 2 tablespoon Coconut Flakes
- 1½ teaspoon White Poppy Seeds
- 1½ teaspoon Coriander Seeds
- 1 teaspoon White Sesame Seeds
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 5 cm Cinnamon Bark 2"
- 1 Black Cardamom Pod
- 1 Blade Mace
- 2 Cloves
Instructions
- Cut the onion in half, peel it, cut it in half, peel it and slice it as thinly as you can.
- Roughly chop the tomato for the curry paste.
- Peel and roughly chop the garlic and ginger for the curry paste.
- Heat the cooking oil in a 28cm or 11" frying pan over a medium heat, add the onion, tomato, garlic and ginger and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Heat a 20cm or 8" frying pan over a high heat and add the remaining ingredients for the curry paste and toast them for 3-4 minutes, keeping them moving regularly.Then transfer them to a mini blender and grind them to a fairly fine powder.
- After the onion mix has had 15 minutes, add it to the blender and blitz to a fine paste.
- Divide the chicken legs into thighs and drumsticks, then make two deep cuts in each thigh and drumstick.Then, massage in the curry paste, and allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes (up to 24 hours).
- Cut the remaining tomato into a 1cm (just under ½") dice.
- Finely chop the coriander.
- Heat a 28cm or 11" frying pan over a medium high heat, and when it is hot, add the cooking oil and the tomatoes and cook until the moisture from them has all evaporated.
- Add the Kashmiri chilli powder and turmeric and stir for 30 seconds.
- Add the chicken and the marinade, and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring and flipping the chicken regularly.
- Add the coriander, salt, lemon juice and water, stir to combine.
- Cover and cook for 30-35 minutes over a low heat. Then remove the lid and cook for another 10 minutes.
