🍲 Chicken handi

Name: Chicken handi
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: India · Pakistan
Ingredients: 700 g boneless chicken, in chunks; 2 onions, finely chopped; 3 tomatoes, puréed; 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste; 150 g plain yogurt, whisked; 60 ml cream; 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp oil; 1 tsp each ground cumin, coriander and chili, 1 tsp garam masala, salt

Origin: India · Pakistan

510kcal

per serving · 300 g

170kcal

per 100 g

39 gProtein13 g / 100 g

33 gFat11 g / 100 g

15 gCarbs5 g / 100 g

Chicken handi is boneless chicken slowly cooked in a handi, a deep clay or metal pot, in a rich gravy of tomato, onion, ginger and garlic finished with yogurt, cream and butter. The sauce is thick, creamy and mild, with gentle warmth from the spices rather than strong heat. It is usually brought to the table in the pot itself and scooped up with naan or rice.

Diets

✓

No porkfor halal, the meat must be halal-slaughtered

✓

Gluten-freeno wheat, barley or rye in a typical recipe

✓

Keto-friendly5 g carbs per 100 g

✓

High protein13 g protein per 100 g — 31% of the calories

Not vegetarianbecause of: chicken

Not veganbecause of: chicken, cream, yogurt, butter

Contains dairybecause of: cream, yogurt, butter

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Milk

What it is made of

chickentomatocreamyogurtoniongingergarlicbutter

Recipe

4 servings50 min

Ingredients

700 g boneless chicken, in chunks
2 onions, finely chopped
3 tomatoes, puréed
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
150 g plain yogurt, whisked
60 ml cream
1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp oil
1 tsp each ground cumin, coriander and chili, 1 tsp garam masala, salt

Method

Heat the oil and butter in a heavy pot and fry the onions until golden.
Add the ginger-garlic paste and ground spices, then the tomato purée, and cook until the oil separates, about 8 minutes.
Add the chicken and salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring.
Lower the heat, stir in the yogurt a spoonful at a time, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Stir in the cream and garam masala, warm through and serve in the pot.

How to make it lighter

Halve the cream and butter: the yogurt alone keeps the sauce thick and tangy.
Eat it with one piece of naan or a small portion of rice rather than both.
Fill half the plate with salad or plain vegetables to balance the rich gravy.

History

The name comes from the handi, the narrow-necked cooking pot used across North India and Pakistan for slow, sealed cooking. Chicken handi is a restaurant favourite in both countries, and the creamy versions served today are a relatively modern style.

Count it in one photo

Point your camera at the table — Me Nutrition recognises Chicken handi and every other dish, with calories and macros for each. Ate only half? Slide it.

Download on the App Store

Similar dishes

Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →