This air fryer bhuna can be made with the protein of your choice.
I used beef to make this air fryer bhuna and it was ready in about 30 minutes. That’s all it takes to make a good air fryer curry.
Can you really cook a curry in an air fryer?
Yes and they come out remarkably well. Heat is heat, after all. Use the heat in your air fryer and you will have a delicious curry every time.
I wrote the air fryer bhuna and many other air fryer curry recipes because I wanted to show how good they are. Believe me… I have experimented a lot to ensure they are all spot on.
There are some who doubt that you can get the same results in an air fryer as you can in a pan but that’s wrong. Try this air fryer bhuna and you will see for yourself!
So is air frying a bhuna as good as other methods?
It sure can be. This is a curry house style bhuna recipe and curry house style bhunas really are simple even in a pan.
When you cook in an air fryer, you are simply using the heat in a different way. Instead of the heat being concentrated at the bottom of the pan, the heat circles the ingredients and cooks them.
Cooking in an air fryer, you will get the same caramelisation needed for a good sauce as you would in in pan. You just need to use the instructions below and you will be surprised at just how good it is.
What is bhuna?
As I mentioned above, this is a curry house style bhuna. I developed it to taste and look just like a bhunas you find at the best curry houses.
In authentic Indian cuisine, bhuna is a style of cooking where meats are braised in just a little liquid. As the liquid cooks down, small amounts of liquid are added. This process continues until the meat is tender and you have a thick sauce.
So curry house style bhunas are bhunas in name only. They are much easier to prepare but still have that thick and delicious sauce that is ideally scooped up with hot naans or chapatis.
Is it OK to cook liquids in an air fryer?
Many people still falsely think that you can’t cook liquids in an air fryer as they will splatter. This just isn’t the case. When you try my air fryer curry recipes, you will see that there is no splatter. In fact it is a lot less messy than pan cooking.
Others think that steam could be an issue in the air fryer. Having cooked hundreds of recipes in my air fryer, I can assure you this is wrong too. You will get more steam air frying a roast chicken than you will air frying a curry.
I’m still not convinced.
Okay. Try this. Make your air fryer chicken tikka masala exactly as the recipe. You can always open the cooking chamber and check the progress.
If by some unexplained miracle the sauce is steaming and spitting like crazy, then it’s hot enough to eat so job done.
Will you get restaurant quality results with this recipe?
You sure will. In this and other air fryer curry recipes I have deveoped, you start by air frying the base ingredients such as onions and bell peppers. These are then blended with other ingredients to make the curry sauce.
The sauce tastes just like when it’s cooked in a pan. Is it better? Well no but it is another option that you should try.
Can this air fryer bhuna be made faster?
Just like when you cook a curry house style bhuna in a pan, there are things you can do to make cooking your bhuna even quicker.
You could, for example air fry your meat in batches. It freezes well and is good to have all that pre-cooked meat on hand when you want an air fryer curry.
When you find a curry like this bhuna that you like, you can also pre-cook and freeze or refrigerate the sauce. Do that and you can quickly and easily cook this air fryer bhuna in minutes after work.
Can you use other proteins in this bhuna?
Yes! Go ahead and use the proteins you like. I used beef this time but you might like to opt for something like air fryer chicken tikka or paneer as I did in this air fryer butter paneer.
Use what you like or have on hand. Your bhuna will be just as you want it to be.
How long can you store leftovers in the fridge?
This recipe is for a curry that serves one to two people. If you make it and have leftovers, you can store them in your fridge for up to three days.
Then to reheat, simply place the curry back in your air fryer to heat through at about 200°C/400°F or easier, place the curry in your microwave for a couple of minutes.
What pan do you need to make this curry?
In order to cook a curry in an air fryer, you will need a metal pan that fits into the basket.
Small cake tins are already popular accessories for air frying casseroles and stews. I use this one <– Affiliate link, which comes in several sizes.
For my air fryer I use a 7 inch diameter pan but you will want to measure your basket before placing an order.
You can use any metal pan though as long as it fits into your air fryer basket.
Although silicone pans have their air fryer uses, I don’t recommend them for cooking curries as they don’t get hot enough and it will mean needing to cook the curry much longer.
Can you upscale this recipe?
I have developed my air fryer curry recipes to serve 1 to 2 people and did this for a reason.
You don’t want a really full pan in your air fryer as it will take longer to cook and it could splatter a bit.
When cooking a small curry house portion, you only need your pan to be about half full. It heats faster and there is no mess.
If you happen to have an air fryer with two cooking chambers to cook in, you could cook two curries at once.
Can this air fryer bhuna be made in any air fryer?
Although I have personally tested quite a few, there are some air fryers that may not be large enough to cook a curry. Most can though.
I have a Ninja Foodie FledDrawer Air Fryer (<– Affiliate Link) which works perfectly for this style of air frying. It has two cooking chambers so you can air fry two different things at once which greatly reduces the cooking time.
I have also used smaller air fryers with great success.
How long can you store leftovers in the fridge?
You should be able to keep your leftovers, covered in your fridge for up to 3 days.
This air fryer chicken tikka masala recipe only serves 1 to 2 people. If you are reheating it all, you could place it back in your air fryer to reheat. You could also just place the curry in your microwave for a couple of minutes.
Can you freeze air fryer bhuna?
You can but for best results I recommend freezing it before adding the cream. If you have already added the cream, you can still freeze the curry but the texture might change a bit as cream doesn’t freeze well.
Step by step photographs.
Get all of your ingredients ready before starting.
Preheat the air fryer to 200°C (400°F). Spray the basket with oil to coat and place the beef pieces inside to cook for about 15 minutes or until tender, stirring once halfway through cooking. When the beef is good and tender, transfer it to a bowl and set aside.
Place the onions, (bell) pepper, oil and salt in a mixing bowl and spray or add oil. Pour it into the cooking basket and fry for 10 minutes.
Carefully spread the garlic and ginger paste over the veggies for the last 2 minutes of cooking.
Pour it all back into the mixing bowl or a blender and add the remaining sauce ingredients.
Blend with a stick blender or in the blender until smooth. Set aside.
Set the temperature to 200°C/400°F and heat the oil. Stir in the chopped onion and coriander stems to cook for a couple of minutes.
Pour in the blended sauce and add the cooked beef along with any juices that accumulated, pushing the meat right into the sauce. Cook for 10 minutes. Stir and cook for 5 more minutes.
Add the garam masala and kasoori methi. Then stir in the yoghurt and season to taste with salt.
To serve, garnish with spur chillies and coriander.
Bhunas are thick curries, perfect for eating with hot naans.
If you like this air fryer bhuna recipe, you might like to try some of these air fryer recipes too.
Chicken Pathia in Air Fryer
Chasni Curry in Air Fryer
Rogan Josh in Air Fryer
Air Fryer Butter Paneer
Lamb Achari in Air Fryer
Chicken Jalfrezi in Air Fryer
Chicken Rezala in Air Fryer
Basmati Rice in Air Fryer
Air Fryer Chapli Kebabs
Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken Legs
Tandoori Whole Air Fryer Chicken
Have you tried this Air Fryer bhuna recipe?
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Air Fryer Bhuna
Ingredients
- 300g (10.5oz) Beef tikka 9cubed raw rump, rib-eye or sirloin)
- FOR THE SAUCE
- 2 medium onions (approx. 250g/9oz), thinly sliced
- 1 red (bell) pepper, thinly sliced 1 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil or
- oil spray 1⁄2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste 1 tbsp curry powder, mixed powder or meat masala
- 1 tsp tandoori masala
- 1⁄2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1⁄2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder 1 tsp paprika
- 125ml (1⁄2 cup) unseasoned passata
- 70ml (1⁄4 cup) warm meat stock
- TO FINISH
- 2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil or oil spray
- 1⁄2 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander (cilantro) stems, plus 2 tbsp finely chopped to serve
- 1⁄2 tsp garam masala
- 1⁄2 tsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- 1 generous tbsp natural yoghurt
- Juice of 1 lemon or lime
- 1 spur chilli, thinly sliced
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
- If you haven’t already cooked the beef, do so now. Preheat the air fryer to 200°C (400°F). Spray the basket with oil to coat and place the beef pieces inside to cook for about 15 minutes or until tender, stirring once halfway through cooking. When the beef is good and tender, transfer it to a bowl and set aside.
- Place the onions, (bell) pepper, oil and salt in a mixing bowl.
- If you are on a reduced-calorie diet, squirt the veggies all over with oil spray instead of adding the oil. Mix it all up well. Pour it all into the cooking basket and fry for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking. Carefully spread the garlic and ginger paste over the veggies for the last 2 minutes of cooking.
- Pour it all back into the mixing bowl or a blender and add the remaining sauce ingredients. Blend with a stick blender or in the blender until smooth. Set aside.
- Pour the 2 tablespoons of oil, if using, into a small cake tin or another suitable metal pan that fits inside your air fryer basket. Set the cooking temperature to 200°C (400°F) and heat the oil for a couple of minutes.
- Add the chopped onions and coriander (cilantro) stems. If you didn’t add the oil, spray the onions and stems to coat with cooking oil and air fry for 2 minutes or until the onion is turning soft.
- Pour in the blended sauce and add the cooked beef along with any juices that accumulated, pushing the meat right into the sauce. Cook for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, the sauce will begin to darken on the top and around the sides. Stir that in for additional flavour. If you used oil, the sauce will be hot and if you used spray, it will be warm. Give it all a good stir and continue air frying for another 5–10 minutes or until the curry is hot enough to serve.
- Add the garam masala and kasoori methi. It’s best to add the kasoori methi by rubbing it between your fingers over the curry. Whisk in the yoghurt and season with salt to taste, then squeeze in the citrus juice and stir well to combine.
- To serve, garnish with the sliced spur chilli and chopped coriander.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1190Total Fat: 72gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 46gCholesterol: 234mgSodium: 2719mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 9gSugar: 18gProtein: 84g