Chicken Bhuna

AuthorSalmaCategoryDifficultyBeginner

Classic Bangladeshi style Chicken Bhuna, simple but yet so delicious and full of flavours. This recipe is perfect for beginners.

Yields5 Servings
Prep Time30 minsCook Time1 hrTotal Time1 hr 30 mins

 1 Chicken
 4 tbsp Oil
 3 Medium onions
 2 tsp Ginger paste/grated
 2 tsp Garlic paste/grated
 3 Bayleaves
 3 sticks Cinnamon Sticks
 3 Cardamom pods
 Salt to taste
 5 Green whole chillies (optional)
 6 Fresh coriander
 2 Medium tomatoes
Spices
  tsp Tumeric powder
 1 ¾ tsp Chilli powder
 1 ½ tsp Coriander powder
 1 ½ tsp Cumin powder
 1 ⅓ tsp Hot/mild curry powder
Optional spices
  tsp Garam masala
  tsp Degi Mirch-Kashmiri chilli powder (adds a nice colour to the dish, well as flavour)

1

Slice the three onions and finely chop the coriander. I used homemade mixed ginger and garlic paste.

Cut the chicken in small pieces, I used tandoori chicken cut in small pieces. Clean the chicken pieces and wash it properly until it looks clean. Place the chicken in a clean bowl and keep aside.

I gave measurements for one chicken curry in my recipe but in the picture you will see the quantity is bigger as I cooked two chickens.

2

In a non stick medium size pot, add the oil. Start off with 4 tablespoons of oil and you can always add more if you think it is not enough.

Heat the oil up, add the ginger, garlic and all the whole spices which are:

Bayleaves 3
Cinnamon sticks 3
Cardamom pods 3
Mix this in and fry on high heat for 2-4 minutes till the nice aroma comes out.

If you prefer to add ginger and garlic at a later stage then you can add them just before adding the spices. You can then fry this for 5 minutes before adding the spices.

3

Mix this in and fry on high heat for 2-4 minutes until the nice aroma comes out.

4

Add the onions, salt and chillies.

As a guide add about under 3/4 Tbs of salt- salt can be adjusted later so do not add too much now.

5

Keep the gas on high heat and mix this in.

6

Once you have mixed it in, cook covered until the onions are soft, make sure to stir often.

7

While this is cooking, the base might become very dry so add some hot boiled water and mix it in. Once the onions start to soften you can now cook this uncovered.

8

Once the onions are soft, mash the onions with a potato masher and give it a good mix.

9

Put the gas down and add in the spices:

Tumeric powder 1/3 Tsp
Chilli powder 1 & 3/4 Tsp (adjust if required)
Coriander powder 1 & 1/2 Tsp
Cumin powder 1 & 1/2 Tsp
Curry powder 1 & 1/3 Tsp

I used Bolst's hot curry powder, you can use any brand you like.

10

Optional spices:

I added Garam Masala & MDH Deggi Mirch, the red powder gives a nice red rich colour, instead of Deggi Mirch you can use Kashmiri Chilli powder too, for a nice colour.

11

Put the gas up and mix the spices in.

12

Once you have mixed this in, put the gas on low heat and cook the spices for 12-15 minutes, make sure to stir very often.

13

Spices will become very dry during this cooking stage, so add a little amount of hot boiled water and mix it in. This will prevent the spices from burning.

14

Cook the spices on low heat, adjust the heat if required at anytime. You can add more water during this cooking stage if the spices keep becoming dry. As a guide cook the spices for about 12-15 minutes.

15

Once the spices are cooked, add in the chicken.

16

Put the gas up.

17

Mix this in.

18

Cover the pot and cook on high heat for 5-10 minutes- this will speed up the process and all the excess water from the chicken will come out faster. Make sure to stir at times.

19

Once all the excess water comes out, give it a good stir all the way around. Lower the gas to medium heat and cook uncovered from this stage. Make sure to stir at times and also adjust the heat as required.

20

The water should start to dry up.

21

The chicken should start to look like this, cook until the chicken looks done to you- as a guide, 40-50 minutes.

Stir the dish at times and adjust the heat if needed.

22

Once the chicken looks done, you can add some hot boiled water so the dish isn't too dry- if you prefer it very dry then avoid adding any water.

I like adding at least 3/4 cup of water, so that when I heat it up again another day it heats up nicely.

If you add the water, put the gas on high heat and bring this to boil.
If you do not add any water, then add the green chillies and coriander at once, mix it, cook for a further 2-4 minutes and turn the heat off. You can also adjust the salt if required after adding in the coriander and chillies.

23

Add in the chillies and tomatoes, let this boil for about 5 minutes.

You can also check the salt at this stage and add more if required.

24

Finally garnish with fresh coriander.

25

Give this a quick stir.

26

Cook for a further 2 minutes and turn the heat off.

27

All done, turn the heat off.

28

Serve hot with naan bread or rice of your choice.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

 1 Chicken
 4 tbsp Oil
 3 Medium onions
 2 tsp Ginger paste/grated
 2 tsp Garlic paste/grated
 3 Bayleaves
 3 sticks Cinnamon Sticks
 3 Cardamom pods
 Salt to taste
 5 Green whole chillies (optional)
 6 Fresh coriander
 2 Medium tomatoes
Spices
  tsp Tumeric powder
 1 ¾ tsp Chilli powder
 1 ½ tsp Coriander powder
 1 ½ tsp Cumin powder
 1 ⅓ tsp Hot/mild curry powder
Optional spices
  tsp Garam masala
  tsp Degi Mirch-Kashmiri chilli powder (adds a nice colour to the dish, well as flavour)

Directions

1

Slice the three onions and finely chop the coriander. I used homemade mixed ginger and garlic paste.

Cut the chicken in small pieces, I used tandoori chicken cut in small pieces. Clean the chicken pieces and wash it properly until it looks clean. Place the chicken in a clean bowl and keep aside.

I gave measurements for one chicken curry in my recipe but in the picture you will see the quantity is bigger as I cooked two chickens.

2

In a non stick medium size pot, add the oil. Start off with 4 tablespoons of oil and you can always add more if you think it is not enough.

Heat the oil up, add the ginger, garlic and all the whole spices which are:

Bayleaves 3
Cinnamon sticks 3
Cardamom pods 3
Mix this in and fry on high heat for 2-4 minutes till the nice aroma comes out.

If you prefer to add ginger and garlic at a later stage then you can add them just before adding the spices. You can then fry this for 5 minutes before adding the spices.

3

Mix this in and fry on high heat for 2-4 minutes until the nice aroma comes out.

4

Add the onions, salt and chillies.

As a guide add about under 3/4 Tbs of salt- salt can be adjusted later so do not add too much now.

5

Keep the gas on high heat and mix this in.

6

Once you have mixed it in, cook covered until the onions are soft, make sure to stir often.

7

While this is cooking, the base might become very dry so add some hot boiled water and mix it in. Once the onions start to soften you can now cook this uncovered.

8

Once the onions are soft, mash the onions with a potato masher and give it a good mix.

9

Put the gas down and add in the spices:

Tumeric powder 1/3 Tsp
Chilli powder 1 & 3/4 Tsp (adjust if required)
Coriander powder 1 & 1/2 Tsp
Cumin powder 1 & 1/2 Tsp
Curry powder 1 & 1/3 Tsp

I used Bolst's hot curry powder, you can use any brand you like.

10

Optional spices:

I added Garam Masala & MDH Deggi Mirch, the red powder gives a nice red rich colour, instead of Deggi Mirch you can use Kashmiri Chilli powder too, for a nice colour.

11

Put the gas up and mix the spices in.

12

Once you have mixed this in, put the gas on low heat and cook the spices for 12-15 minutes, make sure to stir very often.

13

Spices will become very dry during this cooking stage, so add a little amount of hot boiled water and mix it in. This will prevent the spices from burning.

14

Cook the spices on low heat, adjust the heat if required at anytime. You can add more water during this cooking stage if the spices keep becoming dry. As a guide cook the spices for about 12-15 minutes.

15

Once the spices are cooked, add in the chicken.

16

Put the gas up.

17

Mix this in.

18

Cover the pot and cook on high heat for 5-10 minutes- this will speed up the process and all the excess water from the chicken will come out faster. Make sure to stir at times.

19

Once all the excess water comes out, give it a good stir all the way around. Lower the gas to medium heat and cook uncovered from this stage. Make sure to stir at times and also adjust the heat as required.

20

The water should start to dry up.

21

The chicken should start to look like this, cook until the chicken looks done to you- as a guide, 40-50 minutes.

Stir the dish at times and adjust the heat if needed.

22

Once the chicken looks done, you can add some hot boiled water so the dish isn't too dry- if you prefer it very dry then avoid adding any water.

I like adding at least 3/4 cup of water, so that when I heat it up again another day it heats up nicely.

If you add the water, put the gas on high heat and bring this to boil.
If you do not add any water, then add the green chillies and coriander at once, mix it, cook for a further 2-4 minutes and turn the heat off. You can also adjust the salt if required after adding in the coriander and chillies.

23

Add in the chillies and tomatoes, let this boil for about 5 minutes.

You can also check the salt at this stage and add more if required.

24

Finally garnish with fresh coriander.

25

Give this a quick stir.

26

Cook for a further 2 minutes and turn the heat off.

27

All done, turn the heat off.

28

Serve hot with naan bread or rice of your choice.

Enjoy!

Chicken Bhuna
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4 Comments

  1. Sunara Begum 16 February 2021 at 19:55

    What spices would you give for 2 baby chikens

    Reply
    1. Salma 19 February 2021 at 18:17

      Double the ingredients.

      Reply
  2. Savana 3 April 2021 at 18:07

    I’m confused as to when the tomatoes come in…

    Reply
    1. Salma 17 April 2021 at 11:37

      Add with the Chillies

      Reply

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