Bihari Chicken Curry

Name: Bihari Chicken Curry
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 1 tsp chilli powder; 6–7 black peppercorns; 100 ml/3½ fl oz/scant ½ cup mustard oil; 2 black cardamom pods; 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder; 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander/cilantro leaves; 3–4 green cardamom pods; 2 garlic cloves; 500 g/1 lb 2 oz chicken legs or thighs (on-the-bone or boneless, as you prefer); 2 tsp ground coriander; 1 tsp Garam Masala (store-bought); 2.5 cm/1 in piece of fresh root ginger; 100 ml/3½ fl oz/scant ½ cup water; 100 g/3½ oz/generous ⅓ cup Greek-style yogurt; 250 g/9 oz onions, sliced; 1 tsp salt, or to taste; 3–4 green chillies (alter the amount to suit your taste); 4–5 cloves; 1 tsp ground turmeric; 2.5 cm/1 in cinnamon stick; 2 bay leaves

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Yatra

By Rohit Ghai

Published 2025

About

This hearty curry is a traditional dish from Bihar, where chicken pieces are marinated in a mixture of yogurt and spices, and are then slow-cooked to perfection with onions, ginger and green chillies. Chicken on the bone is the meat of choice, but if you prefer boneless chicken, you can use that too.

Ingredients

500 g/1 lb 2 oz chicken legs or thighs (on-the-bone or boneless, as you prefer)

Asia
India
Bihar
Main course
Gluten-free

Method

Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl, add the yogurt, ground turmeric, garam masala and salt, and toss so that the chicken is well coated. Leave to marinate for 10–15 minutes.

Heat the mustard oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat until it starts to smoke slightly, then add cinnamon stick, bay leaves, peppercorns, cardamom pods and cloves. Let them sizzle for a few seconds. Add