Chicken Do Pyaza
Chicken Do Pyaza is a delicious Indian chicken curry inspired by Mughal and Persian cuisines. It is a popular dish that can be found on menus across India, and once you try it, it is easy to understand why.
Chicken Do Pyaza
The name Do Pyaza means “two onions”, and that is because onions are used in two different ways in this dish. Some of the onion is diced and cooked until golden and caramelised, while the rest is cut into chunky pieces and added towards the end of cooking.
I watched quite a few videos of Chicken Do Pyaza being prepared and took inspiration from different versions before creating my own. If you have never tried this dish before, what are you waiting for? It is honestly one of the most delicious chicken dishes I have made.
It always amazes me how you can use many of the same spices in Indian cooking, yet change the cooking technique and end up with something that tastes completely different.
My kitchen was being renovated at the time, so I hadn’t been spending much time in there or logging into my blog. I apologise if I haven’t responded to your comments during that time.
I am slowly getting back on track and catching up on all my work. Today, things finally felt a little more normal in my kitchen, and I really enjoyed cooking this dish.
The kitchen isn’t completely finished yet, but once it is, I will definitely share some pictures with you.
Ingredients Required
There are no fancy ingredients required for this dish. You need some chicken, onions, tomatoes, chilli, yogurt and a handful of spices. And, of course, I think most Indian dishes need a generous handful of fresh coriander!
It is also a fairly easy curry to make, which is always a bonus.
How to Make Chicken Do Pyaza
With most curries, I am a big fan of cooking low and slow, but Chicken Do Pyaza is the exception. This is a quick curry, so there is no need to wait patiently for hours before you can tuck in.
It takes about 30 minutes to cook, making it a great option when you want something flavourful without spending the entire day in the kitchen.
The steps are pretty simple. Start by heating the oil, then add the diced onion and fry until it is golden brown and beautifully caramelised.
This step is important because the caramelised onion helps thicken the sauce as it cooks down. I have noticed that many Indian chefs use red onion in their cooking, and I have been using it a lot more lately too. Red onion is naturally sweeter and caramelises beautifully, which adds so much flavour.
I also find that Indian cooking often uses a much more generous amount of ginger and garlic than I traditionally would, and it really does make a difference to the final flavour.
Once the tomatoes are added, cook them until they reduce and the mixture becomes rich and thick. The yogurt and chicken are then added and everything is cooked until the chicken is tender and the sauce is deliciously flavourful.
You can also add some dried fenugreek leaves, or methi, to the curry. It adds another lovely layer of flavour to the dish.
If you don’t have methi, don’t worry. You can leave it out and the curry will still be delicious. Most Indian spice shops stock dried fenugreek leaves, though, so it is definitely worth keeping some in your pantry.
I have been using dried fenugreek leaves more often in my cooking and I absolutely love the flavour. It works beautifully with chicken dishes and also adds something special to certain vegetarian curries.
But the real cherry on top is the chunky onion. Once the curry is almost ready, the remaining onion is fried with green chilli and added to the dish. It gives you those lovely little pieces of onion that still have some texture and sweetness.
I also added a few curry leaves because I love the flavour they bring, but they are not essential to the dish. Feel free to leave them out if you don’t have any.
And one final tip: if you have the time, please roast and grind your own spices. It takes a little extra effort, but the difference in flavour is absolutely worth it.
More Recipes to Try
Delicious Oven Baked Chicken Biryani
Chicken Do Pyaza
Ingredients
Marinating the chicken
- 1 kg chicken
- 2 teaspoon kashmiri chili powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- juice of half lemon
Sauce
- 5 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 large red onion finely diced
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon kashmiri chilli powder
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves
- 3 roma tomatoes blanched and blended
- 1/3 cup plain yogurt
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 medium brown onion cut into cubes
- 2 green chillies slit in half
- 2 sprigs curry leaf (optional)
- fresh coriander to garnish
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken with the ginger garlic paste, chilli powder, turmeric, salt and lemon juice. Refrigerate for 30 minutes
- Heat 4 tablespoon oil (reserve the other tablespoon for later) in a pan, on medium heat and add the onion. Sauté until the onion is golden brown
- Add ginger garlic paste and cook for 1 minute or until the raw smell disappears
- Add the chilli powder, cumin and coriander. Cook for 30 seconds and add the pureed tomatoes
- Cook the tomatoes for about 10-12 minutes until the oil comes to the surface and it has reduced
- Add the yogurt and mix well. Cook for a few seconds and add the chicken. Allow it to fry in the sauce for 5 minutes
- Add 1 cup warm water. Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes
- Mix in the fenugreek leaves.
- Add 1 tablespoon oil in a pan and fry the onion, chilli and curry leaf until slightly brown. Add it to the dish. Garnish with coriander
Hello Lorraine, step 2 & 3 confusing me. Not that it is a difficult thing to do but is that the same onion, the red onion, the brown onion, onion onion? Could you please help, Thanks Thomas
Hi Thomas! My apologies. Its the ginger and garlic paste to be added next not onion again. I have corrected it.
Superb will definitely make this often. My favorite chicken curry ever eaten
Tried this recipe 2 months ago and now it is made weekly in my home. I absolutely LOVE it. So quick, so easy, SO GOOD.