The Pop Food Heritage Recipe
- For 4 servings
- Cuisine- Indian/Persian
- Type- Main course, lunch or dinner
- Preparation time- 1 hour
- Cooking time- ½ hour
- Total time:- 1½ hour
Here’s a symphony of juicy chicken and fresh, red onions that originated in the Khorasan province of Iran, and later introduced to India by the Muhgals. As the Persian name may suggest, Dopiaza (or Do Pyaja) is not actually made with only two onions– you need more. Why such a name then? We are not sure, but the name may suggest that onions are added to the dish at two stages of cooking. And need we say, it tastes heavenly.
Chicken Dopiaza: Ingredients
- Chicken, medium cubes – 1kg
- Red onions, cubes- 2
- Red onions, julienne cut- 3
- Tomato- cube cut – 1
- Tomato, paste- 2
- Ginger paste- 2tbsp
- Garlic paste- 2tbsp
- Green chillies, chopped- 5
- Coriander leaves, finely chopped- 20 gms
- White curd/yoghurt- 150gm
- Shahi Garam Masala- 1 tbsp
- Kashmiri red chilli powder- 3tbsp
- Turmeric powder- 1tbsp
- Salt- to taste
- Coriander powder- 1.5 tbsp
- Special spices- 1 tbsp
(Cumin seeds, red chilli, ajwain – roasted and ground together) - Mustard oil- 50 ml
Chicken Dopiaza : Cooking Procedure
- Take a large mixing bowl and put washed chicken pieces into it
- The Marinade: Add ginger paste, garlic paste, 1tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder, 2tbsp mustard oil, ½ tbsp turmeric powder and salt to the chicken. Mix the spices well with the chicken using a wooden spatula and set aside the marinade for one hour
- Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder and garam masala to white curd in a mixing bowl. Now whisk the curd to mix it properly with all the spices
- Heat mustard oil in a deep frying pan. As the oil tends to boil…
- …add julienne-cut onions into it and fry till they develop a caramel colour
- Add tomato paste to onion fries and cook for a while
- Add the whisked, spicy curd into the mixture and stir continuously
- Next, add the marinated chicken to the mixture and stir until the mixture gives of natural oil that separates
- Add 50 ml warm water to the mixture. Put the lid on and let the chicken cook for 5-6 minutes or until the chicken pieces are boiled
- Remember we said onions are added at two stages of cooking? It’s time to add the cubed onions and tomatoes to the curry and stir very lightly so that they get blended into the gravy. But don’t overcook them, the natural, semi-cooked flavours of onions and tomatoes are what make this dish taste so special
- Now sprinkle special spices, chopped green chilli and coriander leaves on the dopiaza
- Enjoy the iconic dish with long grain rice or hand-rolled Indian breads (chapatis)
Chicken Dopiaza exists across a large Asian geographical arc. It’s a very old recipe and has evolved along parallel culinary lines. One small example, if you order this dish in Hyderabad, you will get traces of raw mango as a souring agent in the preparation. In Iran or Afghanistan, you may discover cranberries in the dish with the same objective.
