The AIs generated this recipe specifically to use up the fresh Celebrity Tomatoes from our garden. doobie doobie doobie dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Chicken Karahi with Fresh Celebrity Tomatoes
This version uses about 2½ lb of your Celebrity tomatoes for 2 lb chicken. It is deliberately tomato-forward, with no onion and no need to peel the tomatoes. The key is cooking the tomatoes down thoroughly until the masala becomes concentrated and the oil begins to separate.
Serves: 4–6
Time: About 50–65 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 lb bone-in, skinless chicken pieces, preferably thighs and drumsticks, cut into smaller karahi-style pieces if possible We used 2lb boneless cut into bite size pieces. Adjusted instructions below.
- 2½ lb ripe Celebrity tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped, skins on
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1½ tsp kosher salt, to start
- 1½ tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- ½ tsp hot red chili powder or cayenne, optional
- 1½ tsp ground coriander
- ¾ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
- 1–2 green chilies, slit lengthwise
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger, cut into thin matchsticks
- ½ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
Method
1. Brown the chicken
Heat the oil in a wide, heavy skillet, karahi, or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Add the chicken and cook for 7–10 minutes, turning occasionally, until it develops some golden-brown spots. It does not need to be cooked through.
If your pan is crowded, do this in two batches. Browning is useful here because the fresh tomatoes will release a lot of liquid.
If using boneless thighs, remove the chicken in this step and hold for later.
2. Add ginger-garlic and spices
Lower the heat to medium.
Add the ginger-garlic paste and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Add:
- Salt
- Kashmiri chili powder
- Hot chili, if using
- Ground coriander
- Ground cumin
Stir with the chicken for 30–60 seconds.
3. Add all the tomatoes
Add the 2½ lb chopped Celebrity tomatoes.
Do not add water.
Stir everything together and bring the tomatoes to a vigorous simmer. Cover partially and cook over medium heat for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have completely softened and released their juices.
The pan will initially look very watery. This is expected.
4. Cook down the karahi masala
If using boneless thighs, return the partially cooked pieces at this point to cook with the rest of the masala base.
Uncover and continue cooking for 15–25 minutes over medium to medium-high heat, stirring frequently.
As the liquid evaporates:
- Break up larger pieces of tomato with your spoon.
- Scrape the bottom regularly.
- Let the sauce become thick enough to coat the chicken.
Eventually, you should see small pools of oil separating around the edges. The tomatoes should taste cooked, sweet, and concentrated rather than raw.
This is the most important stage. With juicy garden tomatoes, it may take closer to 25 minutes.
5. Finish the chicken
Once the masala is thick, add the black pepper and green chilies.
Cover and cook over low heat for 5–10 minutes, until the chicken is completely tender and cooked through.
If the sauce becomes too dry before the chicken is done, add a few tablespoons of water—not a large amount—and continue cooking.
6. Final seasoning
Stir in:
- Garam masala
- About half the ginger matchsticks
- About half the cilantro
Cook uncovered for 1–2 minutes.
Taste and adjust salt and heat.
Top with the remaining fresh ginger and cilantro.
Let it sit for 5 minutes before serving.
A few adjustments specifically for Celebrity tomatoes
Chop them fairly small: About ½- to 1-inch pieces. This helps the skins break down without peeling.
Don't use a narrow pot: A wide skillet speeds evaporation, which matters because fresh Celebrity tomatoes are juicy.
Don't judge the sauce too early: It may look alarmingly watery for the first 15–20 minutes. Resist adding tomato paste; given enough reduction time, your garden tomatoes should provide the concentrated tomato flavor on their own.
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