A rich and savoury recipe for chicken dopiaza, an Indian restaurant style favourite, bursting with flavour from a classic curried onion gravy, with no need to make a base sauce in advance.
Chicken dopiaza
Chicken dopiaza, chicken in a double onion curry sauce, is a British Indian restaurant favourite, savoury and comforting, full of flavour and fragrant spice.
See also
- Chicken dhansak, a rich and fruity lentil based curry that is soothing and satisfying
- For a little more heat, try chicken jalfrezi
- Chicken pathia, spicy, sweet sour and oh so tasty!
I think this dish is one of my curry house favourites, savoury with a touch of sweetness from the caramelisation of the onions.
The Mughal heritage of this dish is plain to see in the name, which means two onions or double onions in Farsi and the Persian-influenced languages of the north of the subcontinent. There are onions blended in a velvety smooth sauce and pieces of onion too.
If you want to go all-out, you can garnish with crispy fried onions for an extra layer of fragrance and flavour.
There is a lovely comfort food quality to all that spiced onion sauce and it is a great dish to come home to after a long day.
Curry lends itself well to batch cooking and may actually be better reheated when the flavours have had longer to combine, so I make extra, knowing I will be glad of it after a long walk or a busy day at work.
And if you have several different curries already made in the freezer you can pull a fakeaway banquet together with very little effort.
A fuss-free chicken dopiaza recipe
There are some very elaborate versions of this recipe out there but mine is an easy, slightly simplified version that retains all the flavour. It still requires a little more effort than some other common curry recipes, as you need to blend the sauce, but this is a curry that will fit nicely into the repertoire of any home cook.
My chicken dopiaza recipe works well with raw chicken, deli chicken pieces or leftover roast chicken. You need to adjust the sauce a little but it is very easy and I will show you how. Crucially, you don’t need to make up a batch of base curry sauce in advance as some recipes require.
I have already said that this is a great make-ahead dish, and it will freeze well. You can also make a double batch of the sauce, freezing this separately for another day.
This gives you great flexibility, because you can freeze, defrost, cook and then freeze some of the resulting dish. You can’t freeze cooked meat twice, but you can refreeze the sauce.
Why make chicken dopiaza
- an easy, satisfying dish that you can make in advance
- Fantastic fakeaway with no need to make a vat of curry base sauce in advance
- fragrant and satisfying
- great for feeding a crowd or filling the freezer
Chicken dopiaza ingredients
- Chicken – chicken thighs, skinned, boned and cut into pieces, are ideal as they have more fat and flavour than breast meat and tend to be less expensive. You can also use ready cooked chicken, and even ready spiced curried or tikka chicken pieces.
- Onions – brown or a mix of red and brown onions
- Spices – curry powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, paprika, medium chilli powder, 3–4 cardamon pods, and garam masala
Helen’s Fuss Free Tip
A dopiaza would usually contain a Kashmiri chilli powder that is milder than regular chilli powder and adds a red colour. If you have some, use it.
I am happy enough to use a regular chilli that does the job just fine without having to buy a speciality ingredient that is not in most supermarkets. The paprika, together with the tomato paste, gives plenty of colour.
- Garlic and ginger pastes – or a combined one
Prepared garlic and ginger paste
This is the cornerstone of easy Indian cooking at home, and a massive time saver.You can buy large jars cheaply at the local Asian convenience store and it will keep in the fridge for quite a while. Depending on where you shop you can buy a jar of mixed ginger and garlic, or individual jars of just the one ingredient.
If you don’t cook spicy food on a regular basis portion, into an ice cube tray, freeze and then pop out into a plastic bag or tub.
- Canned tomatoes – I choose something mid-range. You don’t need the sort that are £2 a tin, but avoid low quality options that may have a metallic taste. This recipe uses half a can, so you will have some left over for other dishes, or you can increase the recipe for the sauce and freeze it for another time. Canned tomatoes can be frozen.
- Green chillies – green finger chillies are popular in Indian restaurant cooking, but it doesn’t really matter which variety you have. Just be aware of how hot they are and adjust the quantity according to taste.
- Chicken stock – a cube or stock pot is fine here. Made up about 150 ml, about ½ a regular mug.
- Oil or ghee (not shown) – flavourless oil or ghee. I much prefer homemade ghee!
A note on spices and curry powders
I don’t make my own masalas. I admire those who do and do it well, but for most dishes, I am happy with the ones you can buy. After all, I am not cooking complex Michelin-starred Indian cuisine but the sort of homely Indian restaurant food that is so often cited as Britain’s national dish.
I use a medium curry powder as it adds a general Indian restaurant flavour to the dish, without you having to keep and measure out umpteen spices. Think of it as a base flavour like adding stock to a soup. You can add the same stock to soups and they all taste very different depending on the other ingredients.
Garam masala is not the same as the stuff sold as ‘curry powder’, though you may find it defined as a curry powder in reference works. It contains some of the sweeter spices and in some recipes it is used at a later stage of cooking. Think of it as a seasoning, like a pinch of salt in the soup.
Cardamon aside, I have used powdered spices and blends and put it all in the blended sauce as I find it easier and quicker. It’s also more economical than buying whole cinnamon etc.
How to make chicken dopiaza – step by step
Before you start, read my step-by-step instructions, with photos, hints and tips so you can make this chicken dopiaza recipe perfectly every time.
Scroll down for the recipe card with quantities and more tips at the bottom of the page.
Step One – Peel the onions. Cut one into wedges and the rest into a reasonably fine dice.
Step Two – Fry the onion wedges in a little oil or ghee until soft and starting to go golden around the edges. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Step Three – Add some more oil or ghee to the pan and fry the diced onions gently until they are golden. This takes at least 5 minutes, if not longer. Do not be tempted to skimp on this stage, as it creates lots of flavour.
Once the onions are turning a lovely golden colour, add the spices and cook a little longer until fragrant.
Step Four – Add the tomatoes to the onions, together with half the stock and the onion and ginger paste. Stir, scraping all the onion from the bottom of the pan to incorporate it into the sauce.
Step Five – Tip into a large bowl or jug and blend. If you have made a double batch of sauce to freeze, separate what you want to store now.
Do not be tempted to blend the sauce in the pan. Unless the end of the stick blender is fully submerged, it will go everywhere and the sauce in my pan is not deep enough. If you want to redecorate your kitchen ceiling with curry splats, however, go for it!
Helen’s Fuss Free Tip
You do not need to spend a lot of money on a stick blender. A basic one will do. If you want to get a better one, look for one with a metal, rather than plastic, shaft. Either way, I find it a lot less fuss than a jug blender or food processor.If blending hot liquid in a processor or jug blender, make sure that the central bung is loosely fitted so that the steam can escape. Put a tea towel over the top to catch any splashes. Do not attempt to blend a liquid that is just off the boil.
Step Six – Return the blended sauce to the pan and add the chopped chicken, chopped green chillies and the lightly crushed cardamon pods (I just squash them on a chopping board under the spice jar).
Stir well.
If you are using ready cooked chicken, you may want to add a little more stock. Raw chicken will release some juices into the sauce, and will not need it.
Cover the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook on the stove top on the lowest heat for about 25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
Check half way though cooking and add more stock if the sauce seems a little dry. If it seems a bit loose and you need to thicken it, continue to cook with the lid ajar to allow it to reduce a little.
Step Seven – Return the fried onion wedges to the curry and stir through, ensuring that they are hot before serving.
Serving suggestion
I like to serve this chicken dopiaza recipe swirled with a little yoghurt or cream, and garnished with a scattering of fresh coriander and sliced chillies. Fried onions also make a lovely garnish.
Serve with traditional breads such as roti, parathas or naan, or with pilau rice or turmeric rice.
Variations
- Use spiced cooked chicken pieces for a lazy version with extra spice!
- Fry some extra onion for a delicious garnish and an extra layer of onion flavour.
- Adjust the spicing and heat to taste.
Storage
This chicken dopiaza recipe is ideal for making ahead of time and may actually benefit from it, as the flavours have longer to infuse the meat.
Fridge – Allow to cool, and as soon as it is cold pack into an airtight container. You can keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze for 3 months. Defrost (from frozen) and reheat in a pan on the stove top, or heat in the microwave, making sure it is properly hot before serving.
Freezer – Cool and pack into an airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge or worktop before reheating.
Reheat in a pan on the stove top, or heat in the microwave, making sure it is properly hot before serving.
You can increase the quantity of sauce and freeze this separately in the same way.
Hints and tips
- Take the time to fry the onion properly, so that it is golden but still moist. This caramelisation process is essential to get that wonderful onion flavour.
- Adding the right amount of liquid is an art and not an exact science, so do read the notes above. How much you need will depend on your choice of chicken, how thick or loose you like the sauce and how some of the other ingredients behave too, so start with half the stock listed and use the rest to adjust as needed.
- A full sized can of tomatoes works out cheaper than a half can. If you don’t make extra sauce, you can keep them in the fridge in a suitable sealed container for several days, or you can freeze them.
FAQs
No, though the ingredients overlap and both are medium spiced dishes. Chicken bhuna is a drier dish with a coating sauce rather than a curry gravy, and has similar quantities of tomato and onion, while chicken dopiaza is much heavier on the onion.
It means 2 onions or possibly double onion. There are two possible explanations for this. One is that the onions are treated in two different ways and stages, and the other is the ratio of onion to meat. Both make perfect sense, so perhaps it is doubly double onion!
Yes, but it’s not this chicken dopiaza. In Iran, dopiaza is also a dish of meat and onions and they come from the same roots.
The spicing in this dish, however, is definitely from the Indian subcontinent via the British Indian restaurant.
Somewhere in the upper middle range of curry heat. Dopiaza dishes are spicy but not fiercely hot. Obviously it varies, as the key feature of this curry is the onions rather than the chilli and the great thing about making it at home is that you can get the spicing just right for you.
More British Indian restaurant recipes
- Chicken bhuna – a lovely savoury dry curry with medium spicing
- Lamb rogan josh – make this curry house favourite at home
- Lamb biryani – a delicious dish of rice and lamb
- Explore all my favourite Indian curries
Chicken Dopiaza
Ingredients
- 2 large onions
- 2 tbsp ghee or oil
- 1 tbsp ginger and garlic paste (or ½ tbsp ginger paste and the same of garlic.)
- 1 tbsp medium curry powder
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp chilli powder (or to taste)
- ½ can chopped tomatoes
- 200 ml chicken stock
- 400-450 g chicken thighs (skinned, boned and diced)
- 2 green chillies (membranes and seeds removed if you don't like too much heat)
- 4 pods cardamon (crushed)
Instructions
- Peel the onions. Cut one into wedges and the rest into a reasonably fine dice.2 large onions
- Fry the onion wedges in a little oil or ghee until soft and starting to go golden around the edges. Remove from the pan and set aside.2 tbsp ghee or oil
- Add some more oil or ghee to the pan and fry the diced onions gently until they are golden. This takes at least 5 minutes, if not longer.
- Once the onions are turning golden, add the spices and cook a little longer until fragrant.1 tbsp medium curry powder, 1½ tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp paprika, 2 tsp garam masala, ½ tsp chilli powder
- Add the tomatoes to the onions, together with half the stock and the onion and ginger paste. Stir, scraping all the onion from the bottom of the pan into the sauce.½ can chopped tomatoes, 200 ml chicken stock, 1 tbsp ginger and garlic paste
- Tip into a bowl or jug so that the sauce is deep enough to submerge the blender and blitz to a smooth sauce. If you have made a double batch of sauce to freeze, separate what you want to store now.
- Return the blended sauce to the pan and add the chopped chicken, chopped green chillies and the lightly crushed cardamon pods.2 green chillies, 400-450 g chicken thighs, 4 pods cardamon
- Stir well. If you are using ready cooked chicken, you may want to add a little more stock. Raw chicken will release some juices into the sauce, and will not need it.
- Cover the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook on the stove top on the lowest heat for about 25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Check half way though cooking and add more liquid if needed.
- Return the fried onion wedges to the curry and stir through, ensuring that they are hot before serving.
Notes
- Take the time to fry the onion properly, so that it is golden but still moist. This caramelisation process is essential to get that wonderful onion flavour.
- Adding the right amount of liquid is an art and not an exact science, so do read the notes above. How much you need will depend on your choice of chicken, how thick or loose you like the sauce and how some of the other ingredients behave too, so start with half the stock listed and use the rest to adjust as needed.
- A full sized can of tomatoes works out cheaper than a half can. If you don’t make extra sauce, you can keep them in the fridge in a suitable sealed container for several days, or you can freeze them.
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