Chicken dopiaza. Hotel style. This is something you know. Might even be a favourite. But not quite how you might be expecting. This dopiaza brings seriously big flavours.
Onions. Spices. Green chilies. Chicken. Simple really. Nothing unusual. Until you add hotel style gravy. That makes it special. Kicks it up a notch.
The big chunks of fried onion and the fried onion garnish don’t hurt either. Lots to love here.
Hotel style is different
If you haven’t heard about hotel style I’m glad you’re here. Hotel style is about maximum flavour.
Not exactly restaurant style. Close. Really close. But tastier. The way you wish restaurants served it. Flavours that make your taste buds sit up and take notice.
Think about curries you’ve eaten at your favourite Indian restaurant. Now imagine you could do better. That you could get deeper flavours. That’s hotel style.
The same lush sauces you get in restaurants. But with all the wonderful flavours that you get with traditional Indian cooking. It’s a little bit of curry magic.
This is how they do it in Indian hotels. And really posh restaurants. Cooked to order. But true to tradition.
If you’ve ever eaten in high end restaurants in India you know what I’m talking about. This is not what they serve you at your local takeaway. This is what they serve at those restaurants you can’t get a reservation at.
No idea what I’m talking about? You can fix that. Easy. Just make this chicken dopiaza. You’ll get it. And you’ll never look back.
Chicken dopiaza is an ancient dish
There are famous Indian dishes that have nothing to do with India. Dishes with Indian sounding names. That trace their roots to restaurants in the UK. Chicken tikka masala is the classic example.
Chicken Dopiaza isn’t one of those. It’s the real deal. An ancient dish. Been around for centuries. I love that. Traditional Indian goes mainstream.
And there’s even a story. Bit of history. Maybe “history” is a stretch. Myth maybe? It goes back to the Moghuls. There’s even an emperor in the tale.
Once upon a time – so the fable goes – a cook in the imperial kitchen screwed up. Somehow added too many onions to a dish. Big mistake. Lucky for that cook, the emperor liked it.
So the cook didn’t get fired. Or whatever the penalty was for too many onions back then.
The cook’s name was Do Piaza.
That’s the story. But dopiaza also sounds a lot like do pyaaj. Which means two onions in Hindi.
It all seems a little too cute to me. But that’s the story. I didn’t make it up.
My spidey senses are tingling a bit. Think about it. A guy who’s name is two onions adds too many onions to a curry for an emperor. And then gets a dish named after him.
Yo. Emperor here. Mr. Two Onions – you put too many onions in this dish. But I like it. So I’m going to name it after you.
Hmmm…
Four onions in this chicken dopiaza
Technically this isn’t a dopiaza. There are onions in the hotel style gravy. Lots of onions. Beautiful, deeply-browned onions.
There’s finely chopped onions in the chicken dopiaza. A little flavour boost. And a nice texture.
There’s big chunks of onion. The ones you expect in dopiaza. That satisfying bite of onion that’s fundamental to the dish.
And there’s the crispy fried onion strands to garnish. A little flourish of flavour right at the end. Really pushes it over the top.
The fried onions aren’t essential. But they are a nice touch. A bit of flash if you feel like showing off.
So if dopiaza is two onions this is actually a recipe for chaar pyaaj. Four onions. Or onions four ways.
That does not roll off the tongue. And nobody has a clue what chaar pyaaj is. So I’m calling it dopiaza.
Doesn’t matter what it’s called though. What matters is that it’s seriously tasty stuff.
Chicken dopiaza – Indian hotel style
Ingredients
The onions
- 1/2 onion – cut into large segments (petals) – about 2/3 cup total
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil – any neutral oil (look at how much is in the pan)
The spice mix
- 1 1/2 tsp Indian restaurant spice mix – recipe link below
- 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp kasoor methi – dried fenugreek leaves
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
chicken dopiaza
- vegetable oil – to get back to 4 tbsp total
- 1/2 cup onion – finely chopped
- 1 tbsp garlic ginger paste – recipe link below
- 1 cup Indian hotel curry gravy – recipe link below. Dilute it with 4 tbsp water.
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs – cut into 3 or 4 pieces each
- 2 jwala green chili aka finger hots – seeded and cut in half and then into 1 inch pieces (for a total of 6-8 pieces).
- 1 tbsp cilantro – minced leaves and stems
The onion garnish
- 1/2 large onion thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil – any neutral oil
Instructions
Do your prep (including the onion garnish)
- Make your spice mix. Combine all the spices and the salt into one small bowl. Cut up your green chilies and onions. Prepare your spice mix.
- If you are going for the onion garnish heat 2 Tbsp oil in the pan you will be making your dopiaza. Add the onions and fry until they are well brown. This takes 10-15 minutes so make sure you do it ahead of time. This adds a little something nice. It isn’t critical though. So don’t worry if you don’t have time to do it.
Pre-cook your onions
- Add 4 tbsp oil to the pan you will use to prepare your chicken dopiaza. Look at how much oil is in the pan. You will need to top it up a bit to get back to the same level when you make your dopiaza.
- Add the coarsely chopped onions (big pieces). Fry until softened and edges just barely start to darken. You want them soft so don’t push your pan too hard. Silky soft. A little oily. And a bit of char on the edges. That’s what you want.
- Use tongs to remove the onions. Set aside.
Make the chicken dopiaza
- Re-heat the oil in until the oil just starts to shimmer.
- Add the onions and stir every few seconds. Fry until the onion edges turn brown.
- Stir in the garlic ginger paste. Cook until the garlic ginger paste stops sputtering. This should take around 30 seconds.
- Turn your heat down to medium low and add your spice mix. This is why you need to use all the oil. You want to fry your spices. Too little oil and you risk your spices sticking or burning. Nothing you can do will fix burned spices.
- Cook your spices for about 30 seconds.
- Add the Indian hotel curry gravy. Stir it really well to get the oil to combine with the curry gravy. You want everything mixed together at this point. Bring to a simmer.
- Add the chicken. Cover loosely and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add the green chilies, pre-cooked onions and cilantro. Continue to cook until the chicken is cooked through. This should take somewhere between 2 to 5 minutes depending on the size of your chicken pieces. As always it is best to use an instant read thermometer and target an internal temperature of around 175F for thighs.
- At this point your dopiaza sauce might be a little thick. Stir in chicken stock or water, a tablespoon at a time to get the consistency you want. As much liquid as you need. This step is feel. You want your dopiaze sauce lush.
- Garnish with the fried onions and bit of cilantro if you like.
- Serve with rice, dal and Indian flatbreads of your choice.
Notes
Nutrition
Chicken dopiaza - Indian hotel style
Ingredients
The onions
- 1/2 onion - cut into large segments (petals) - about 2/3 cup total
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil - any neutral oil (look at how much is in the pan)
The spice mix
- 1 1/2 tsp Indian restaurant spice mix - recipe link below
- 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp kasoor methi - dried fenugreek leaves
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
chicken dopiaza
- vegetable oil - to get back to 4 tbsp total
- 1/2 cup onion - finely chopped
- 1 tbsp garlic ginger paste - recipe link below
- 1 cup Indian hotel curry gravy - recipe link below. Dilute it with 4 tbsp water.
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs - cut into 3 or 4 pieces each
- 2 jwala green chili aka finger hots - seeded and cut in half and then into 1 inch pieces (for a total of 6-8 pieces).
- 1 tbsp cilantro - minced leaves and stems
The onion garnish
- 1/2 large onion thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil - any neutral oil
Instructions
Do your prep (including the onion garnish)
- Make your spice mix. Combine all the spices and the salt into one small bowl. Cut up your green chilies and onions. Prepare your spice mix.
- If you are going for the onion garnish heat 2 Tbsp oil in the pan you will be making your dopiaza. Add the onions and fry until they are well brown. This takes 10-15 minutes so make sure you do it ahead of time. This adds a little something nice. It isn’t critical though. So don’t worry if you don’t have time to do it.
Pre-cook your onions
- Add 4 tbsp oil to the pan you will use to prepare your chicken dopiaza. Look at how much oil is in the pan. You will need to top it up a bit to get back to the same level when you make your dopiaza.
- Add the coarsely chopped onions (big pieces). Fry until softened and edges just barely start to darken. You want them soft so don’t push your pan too hard. Silky soft. A little oily. And a bit of char on the edges. That’s what you want.
- Use tongs to remove the onions. Set aside.
Make the chicken dopiaza
- Re-heat the oil in until the oil just starts to shimmer.
- Add the onions and stir every few seconds. Fry until the onion edges turn brown.
- Stir in the garlic ginger paste. Cook until the garlic ginger paste stops sputtering. This should take around 30 seconds.
- Turn your heat down to medium low and add your spice mix. This is why you need to use all the oil. You want to fry your spices. Too little oil and you risk your spices sticking or burning. Nothing you can do will fix burned spices.
- Cook your spices for about 30 seconds.
- Add the Indian hotel curry gravy. Stir it really well to get the oil to combine with the curry gravy. You want everything mixed together at this point. Bring to a simmer.
- Add the chicken. Cover loosely and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add the green chilies, pre-cooked onions and cilantro. Continue to cook until the chicken is cooked through. This should take somewhere between 2 to 5 minutes depending on the size of your chicken pieces. As always it is best to use an instant read thermometer and target an internal temperature of around 175F for thighs.
- At this point your dopiaza sauce might be a little thick. Stir in chicken stock or water, a tablespoon at a time to get the consistency you want. As much liquid as you need. This step is feel. You want your dopiaze sauce lush.
- Garnish with the fried onions and bit of cilantro if you like.
- Serve with rice, dal and Indian flatbreads of your choice.
Notes
Nutrition
If you love ramen and you love curry then curry chicken ramen could be your new favourite.
Ramen noodles. Crispy golden chicken. A perfect egg. And a Japanese curry broth. Tasty stuff.
I love ramen noodles. Crazy about them. Tonkotsu ramen is one of my all time favourite things to eat. Seriously. It’s an addiction.
But tonkotsu broth takes 12 hours to make. The chashu pork is no joke either. Labour of love. Totally worth it. But tough for a Wednesday night dinner. Unless you start making Wednesday dinner on Tuesday.
So I look for easier ways to get my ramen fix. I don’t do instant ramen anymore. I want better. Way better. And curry chicken ramen fits the bill.
Curry chicken ramen is weeknight dining
This is not a difficult recipe. It doesn’t take forever. Once the chicken is done cooking it’s a 10 minute meal.
You can have dinner on the table in under 40 minutes from the time your oven is pre-heated. Not bad for something seriously delicious. Time well spent.
You need to be organized though. This isn’t putting a frozen lasagna in the oven. It’s still cooking. You can’t get something for nothing. It just doesn’t work that way.
Japanese curry cubes make it easy
It may not be the most famous but Japanese curry is really good eating. It’s different from Indian but familiar. Milder for sure. A hint of fruit.
Japanese curry is worth making from scratch. If you can cook Indian you can make it. I make it regularly. If you get into Japanese curry you should try it.
But even Japanese don’t always make it from scratch. They have a secret weapon. Curry roux cubes. And they use their secret weapon a lot.
Go to an Asian store that has a good Japanese section. And look at how much shelf space the curry cubes get.
I’ll save you a trip. It’s a lot. A wall of curry cubes. Literally. That should tell you something. This is a thing. Like the frozen pizza aisle.
Don’t get me started on that though. Frozen pizza – bad. Curry cubes – good. At least I think so.
No need to take my word for it. Ask your Japanese friends. That’s how I found out about it. Asked for a curry recipe. Got a strange look. And told “just use the cubes. Everyone does.”
The right noodles matter
Noodles are the backbone of any ramen dish. So it’s worth seeking out the best noodles you can get.
Ramen noodles are different from other noodles. They are alkalinated. Look for some sort of carbonate in the list of ingredients. That isn’t some sort of bad thing.
It’s what makes ramen noodles what they are supposed to be. Gets that wonderful ramen texture. Makes them special.
In order of preference I like fresh ramen noodles best. But they can be hard to come by. And they aren’t consistent. But if you can find good ones they are great. I’m lucky. I have a supply.
You can get dried ramen noodles at most Asian grocers. I use those too. Imported from Japan. They work well for curry chicken ramen. Not quite like good fresh noodles. But close enough to keep me happy.
What I don’t recommend are instant ramen noodles. The just add water and wait three minutes stuff. They are not right for this recipe.
Depth of flavour comes from roasting the chicken
It isn’t exactly conventional. Roasted chicken ramen. But the depth of flavour roasting brings is what makes curry chicken ramen work.
It’s about the skin. Crispy chicken skin is hard to beat. But it’s also about what’s going on in the pan.
Fond is the name for those wonderful little bits you get when you roast chicken. Or beef. Or pork. Any protein really. It’s the basis of a good pan sauce.
And it’s the basis of good chicken ramen. Not traditional. But it brings it together. I’m always looking for that extra bit of flavour. And fond is what does it here.
Curry chicken ramen is what’s for dinner – any night of the week
Dinner during the week doesn’t have to be takeout. Or something from the frozen aisle.
Roast some chicken thighs. Boil some eggs. Cook some noodles. Toss in some Japanese curry cubes. That’s it.
Not as easy as picking up the phone. I get that. But you get ramen for dinner. And curry. And crispy chicken. In one bowl.
That’s like the triple crown of weeknight dinners. For me anyway. Next time you reach for the phone make curry chicken ramen instead. You won’t regret it.
Curry chicken ramen
Ingredients
- 3 boneless chicken thighs – with the skin left on.
- salt to season the chicken
- 3 1/2 cups no sodium chicken broth – homemade is always a nice touch
- 2 large eggs – you really want fresh eggs here
- 2 Japanese curry cubes – Golden Curry seems to be a pretty popular brand
- 8 oz fresh ramen noodles
- a bit of oil to rub on the chicken
- green onion and sesame seeds to garnish
Instructions
- Put a big pot of water on to boil to cook the noodles. Pre-heat your oven to 375F. Put an ovenproof skillet large enough to hold the chicken in the oven to pre-heat.
Medium boiled eggs
- Gently lower the eggs into the boiling water (the water for the noodles) and cook for 6 1/2 minutes for large eggs. 7 1/2 minutes for extra large eggs.
- After 6 1/2 (or 7 1/2 depending on the size of the eggs) minutes place the eggs in a bowl of ice water to cool. You want them to cool quickly to stop the yolks from hardening.
- Peel the eggs and set aside.
Cook the chicken
- You can ask your butcher to bone out the chicken thighs or do it yourself. The important thing is the skin stays on. Rub the chicken with a bit of vegetable oil and season with salt.
- Remove the skillet from the oven. Be careful. The handle is hot. Putting a bar towel on the handle to remind you is never a bad idea. This is one burn you can live without.
- Place the chicken, skin side up, in the skillet and return to the oven.
- Cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of about 170F. This takes 12-15 minutes. Remember – that handle is hot.
- Flip the chicken so the skin side is down and place the pan over medium heat. Fry about a minute. You just want the skin to crisp up and turn golden. Remove the chicken from the pan and tent with foil. Set aside.
- Spoon off the fat. Leave the darker liquid and any fond in the pan. That stuff is serious flavour.
Make the broth
- Deglaze the pan with a bit of chicken stock. Scrape up any those little bits in the bottom of the pan. Add about two cups of stock. Bring to a simmer.
- Place the cubes in the stock, remove from the heat and cover. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Uncover and look. The cubes should be melted at this point. Stir them into the stock. It isn’t easy to get the curry cubes fully melted and smooth. You will likely have to chase little bits around your pot. I’ve tried all sorts of approaches. This is the best I’ve figured out so far but it isn’t perfect.
- Add the remaining stock and simmer for about 4-5 minutes.
- While the stock simmers cook the ramen noodles per the instructions on the package.
- Drain the noodles.
To serve
- Slice each egg in half lengthwise. Be careful. The yolks still have a bit of runny texture.
- Divide the noodles across two bowls. Ladle the broth into the bowls. Slice the chicken into strips (use a sharp knife so you get skin and chicken in each slice) and arrange the chicken overtop the noodles and pour half the broth into each bowl. Add the eggs, submerging slightly to warm them through.
- Garnish with green onion and sesame seeds and dig in!
