Chicken chargha is a Pakistani dish that originated in Lahore and is commonly found at Pakistani restaurants in my area. This is a tasty chicken dish that includes a full fried chicken. In this type of chicken meal, the chicken is seasoned firstly, then steamed to cook thoroughly, and then fried, resulting in very juicy chicken meat that is crunchy and delicious. The chaat masala is used in this dish both in the marinade and as a garnish on the cooked chicken chargha.
My wife uses the following ingredients to prepare this chicken dish at home:
- 1 Entire chicken (no skin), Approximately 1.3-1.5 kgs
- Salt, to taste
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Chicken marinade ingredients
- Green chilies, 3 finely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic chopped with the ginger, half an inch thinly sliced
- Dried chilli flakes, 1 tbsp
- Chilli powder, 1 tbsp
- Ground coriander, 1 tbsp
- Cumin seeds, 1 tbsp
- Chaat masala, 2 tbsp
- Dried mango powder, 1 tbsp
- Black pepper, 1 tbsp
- Turmeric, 1 tbsp
- Full Fat yoghurt, 1/4 kg whisked
Preparation procedure:
- With a sharp knife, make shallow incisions all over the chicken, then massage it with the salt and lemon juice and set it aside.
- In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients and process until you get a paste. Rub the marinade all over and inside the chicken and get it all the way into the slits.
- Put the marinated chicken in the fridge for at least 5 hours or overnight, rotating occasionally to achieve even marinating.
- When it is ready to cook, bring a steamer pan half-full of water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, place the marinated chicken in the steamer, cover, and simmer for about 25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Fill a skillet partly with oil and fry both surfaces of the chicken until the oil is halfway up the chicken when lowered.
- Place the chicken breast side up in the oil and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until it turns golden. Turn the chicken gently with tongs to cook the other side for 5 to 7 minutes. When you notice a change in the color and crispiness of the fried chicken, it is done.
- Transfer to a soft cloth to absorb any leftover oil before serving immediately topped with additional chaat masala.
- This is typically served with raita, which is a coriander and mint chutney.
In my area, this Pakistani restaurant serves the finest chicken chargha.