Name: One Pan Chicken Rezala
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Bir Indian
Ingredients: 3 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil or ghee; 3–4 green finger chillies, finely chopped; 3 onions, finely chopped; 2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste; 4 tbsp unseasoned passata; 2 tbsp mixed powder or curry powder 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder (more or less to taste); 200g (7oz) tinned (canned) chopped tomatoes; 250ml (1 cup) water or chicken stock; 800g (1lb 12oz) pre-cooked tandoori chicken tikka or raw chicken breast or thigh, cut into bite-sized pieces; 125ml (1⁄2 cup) single (light) cream; 1⁄2 tsp garam masala, shop-bought or homemade; 2 tbsp coriander (cilantro), finely; chopped 1–2 tbsp butter; Salt, to taste

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This one pot chicken rezala recipe is from my cookbook ‘The Curry Guy One Pot’.

One of the most popular sections in my new cookbook ‘The Curry Guy One Pot’ is the curry house curry chapter! There you will learn to make curry house style curries like this one pan chicken rezala but without the need to first prepare a base curry sauce. The photography in the book is of course better!

I experimented a lot with this recipe and can assure you that you will get restaurant quality results when you make it.

About this one pan rezala recipe.

The idea behind this one pan chicken rezala is to make a rezala that tastes just like you get when you go out to a curry house. I believe I’ve done it here and without the need to first make a base sauce.

You will need to blend the base masala to achieve the same consistency and appearance of a curry house style rezala but even that isn’t necessary.

You can cook this one pan chicken rezala and leave the blending out and still have an amazing rezala curry.

How important is tandoori chicken in this recipe?

Although preparing tandoori chicken tikka like you find in rezalas at curry houses is preferable, you do not have to do that.

You can use raw chicken in this recipe, cut into bite sized pieces and then just cook it through in the sauce.

If you would like to first make tandoori chicken tikka, you might like to try this recipe or even my stovetop chicken tikka or air-fryer chicken tikka.

Can you work ahead?

Yes! Most curries taste better the day after you make them. The flavours develop and you’ll have a one pan chicken rezala that’s even better than the day you made it.

That’s just one of the reasons that curries are great for serving a crowd! Not only do people love them, they can usually be prepared a day or two ahead of serving. Then all you have to do it heat them up.

Can you freeze this one pan chicken rezala?

Yes. If you have any leftover, go ahead and freeze it. Cream doesn’t freeze well but it will be fine in this case.

If you are cooking your chicken rezala to freeze, leave out the butter and cream and freeze it. Then add the butter and cream when you heat it up to serve.

What is ‘The Curry Guy One Pot’ book?

As mentioned above, this one pan chicken rezala is from my new cookbook ‘The Curry Guy One Pot’. This book was two years in the making and includes over 150 spicy one pot dishes from around the world.

There is a large selection of one pan curry house curries as well as recipes from India, Sri Lanka, South East Asia, Europe and the Americas.

What is the difference between this and a curry house rezala?

Not much. Both are delicious and you probably will not taste any flavour difference. If you are a fan of chicken rezala, you are going to love this recipe.

What do you serve with this one pan chicken rezala?

This curry is great served with rice and/or naans and chapattis. If you would like to make this curry into a feast, try one of my samosa recipes! You might also like to try making poppadoms from scratch and enjoying them with a selection of homemade pickles and chutneys.

Step by step photographs.

Get all your ingredients together before you start cooking. It’s a lot easier that way.

Fry the chopped green chillies in the oil or ghee for about 30 seconds to a minute. Then transfer to a plate.

Now fry the chopped onions for about 5 minutes or until soft and translucent. Transfer about one onion to the plate with the chillies and leave the rest in the pan.

Adding garlic and ginger paste to the chopped onions.

Add the garlic and ginger paste to the remaining onions and stir well to combine.

After frying the garlic and ginger for about 30 seconds, add the passata and ground spices and stir them in.

Adding chopped tomatoes and stock/water to the pan.

Pour in the chopped tomatoes and water or stock and bring to a simmer. Then allow to cool some and blend it all into a smooth sauce.

Adding the blended sauce back to the pan and bringing to a simmer.

Pour the blended sauce back into the pan and bring to a simmer.

Adding tandoori chicken to the bubbling sauce.

Stir in the tandoori chicken or raw chicken. If tandoori chicken, heat it through. If raw, cook it through in the hot sauce.

Adding coriander (cilantro), cream and butter to the sauce.

Stir in the chopped coriander (cilantro) and butter. Return the fried chopped onions and chillies to the sauce. Season with salt to taste to serve.

All done. Serve hot with rice, naans and/or chapattis.

Yield: 4

One Pan Chicken Rezala

Chicken rezala is a lot like chicken tikka masala, though it is a bit spicier and there are fewer ingredients. This is probably my family’s favourite curry house-style curry, so we make it often. Although adding raw chicken to cook in the sauce will work, I think rezalas definitely benefit from using tandoori-style chicken. Please don’t let that stop you from making this delicious curry though! Add raw chicken if more convenient and cook it through. Your rezala will be amazing.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

3 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil or ghee
3–4 green finger chillies, finely chopped
3 onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
4 tbsp unseasoned passata
2 tbsp mixed powder or curry powder 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder (more or less to taste)
200g (7oz) tinned (canned) chopped tomatoes
250ml (1 cup) water or chicken stock
800g (1lb 12oz) pre-cooked tandoori chicken tikka or raw chicken breast or thigh, cut into bite-sized pieces
125ml (1⁄2 cup) single (light) cream
1⁄2 tsp garam masala, shop-bought or homemade
2 tbsp coriander (cilantro), finely
chopped 1–2 tbsp butter
Salt, to taste

Instructions

Heat the oil in a pan over a medium-high heat. When visibly hot, stir in the chopped chillies and fry for about a minute. Transfer the chillies to a plate with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Now add the chopped onions to the pan and fry for about 5 minutes or until soft and translucent. Transfer approximately one of the chopped onions to the plate with the chillies.
Now add the garlic and ginger paste to the remaining onions in the pan and fry for a further 30 seconds. Then stir in the passata along with the ground spices. Stir this really well into the onion mixture and then add the chopped tomatoes and 125ml (1⁄2 cup) of chicken stock or water.
Allow to cool a little and then blend until smooth.
Pour the blended sauce back into the pan. It will look thick, so add some more water or chicken stock and then stir the cooked chopped onion and chillies back in. Bring to a simmer. If you are not using a non- stick pan, the sauce should caramelize on the sides of the pan. Scrape this back in, but only stir the sauce if it is obviously sticking to the pan.
Add the chicken and heat/cook it through. When your sauce has cooked down to how you like it, add the cream and stir it in. Then add the garam masala and the coriander (cilantro). Top it all with the butter and continue cooking until the butter melts into the sauce. Season with salt to taste before serving.

Notes

Although I highly recommend blending the sauce as described above, it is optional. If not blending, there is no need to transfer the fried chillies and onion to a side plate. Add the stock/water in small amounts until the meat is cooked/heated through and you are happy with the consistency of the sauce.