Make the famous Mangalorean Chicken Ghee Roast by using this easy recipe to make restaurant style Ghee Roast Chicken at home. This recipe retains the authentic flavors of the Kundapur style ghee roast, but uses boneless chicken instead of bone-in chicken. Though you can easily adapt it and use bone-in chicken. Just don’t skimp on the ghee. 🙂
I first heard of this recipe ages ago. From friends who had tasted it in Kundapur (the birthplace of ghee roast) and who couldn’t stop raving about it. But back then, it wasn’t widely known or made outside of Karnataka. Also, this was the pre-online recipes era. So being from Mumbai, I could only add this dish to my ‘foodie bucket list’ to try sometime when I was in Kundapur.
But that was a long time ago. Since then I have been to Kundapur, tried many versions of this dish, and loved them all. It’s now an indisputable family favorite too! Indulgent, but soooo worth it, that I had to share this recipe with you guys.
And the best part is, that it’s not really all that complicated to make. Pretty simple and fail proof, so long as you follow the steps, and don’t skimp on the ghee (no, really!).
Ingredients You Need
Ingredient notes:
Chicken – I have used boneless chicken for this recipe, but you can use bone-in chicken too. Both versions taste divine!
Kind of red chillies – This recipe calls for byadagi chillies, which are not as spicy as whole dry red chillies, and impart more color than the regular red chillies. Which is why regular spicy red chillies will NOT make a good substitute here.
How to Make Chicken Ghee Roast at Home
Roasting the spices
- In a wide bottomed pan, dry roast the whole dry byadagi chillies for 3-5 minutes on medium-low flame till well roasted.
- Then set the roasted chillies aside, and in the same pan, add in the coriander seeds, peppercorns, cumin seeds & fennel seeds, and roast them for 3-5 minutes on medium-low flame till well roasted.
Grinding the masala
- In a mixie, add only the roasted chillies first, and give it a quick pulse to crush it.
- Then to the crushed chillies, add the roasted whole spices (coriander seeds, peppercorns, cumin seeds, fennel seeds), and chopped ginger & garlic, along with a little water.
- Grind till you get a smooth paste.
Marinating the chicken
- In a large bowl, take the boneless chicken pieces, and to it, add the masala from the mixer, along with yogurt, lemon juice / extract, salt and ghee.
- Mix well, and let the chicken marinate in this masala mix for a minimum of 4-6 hours in the fridge.
Making ghee roast
- In a wide bottomed pan, heat up the ghee, and add the curry leaves, and let it roast lightly for 2-3 minutes.
- Then add the chopped onions, a little salt to cook down the onions faster, and roast on medium flame for 8-10 minutes, till the onions turn translucent. No need to brown the onions for ghee roast.
- Next add the marinated chicken, mix well, and cook on medium flame (stirring intermittently) for 30 minutes or so, till the chicken is fully cooked.
- At the halfway mark, or when the chicken is almost done, add in the jaggery powder, mix well, and continue to cook till the chicken is done.
- At first the chicken will release water, but towards the end, you will have a dry-ish curry, with ghee leaving the sides.
Note
It’s not mandatory, but it’s ideal to use a wide bottomed pan, as mentioned in the recipe, to get close to the dryish-consistency of the final dish.
Serving Suggestion
Serve Chicken Ghee Roast with steamed rice, roti, or even neer dosa. All of these combinations work really well.
Popular Chicken Recipes to Try
⭐️ Whole Tandoori Chicken Recipe
⭐️ Restaurant Style Chicken Lollipop
⭐️ Kolhapuri Style Chicken Curry
⭐️ Crispy Chicken 65
⭐️ Instant Pot Chicken Biryani
As always, I hope you found this recipe useful. If you did, please let me know your rating ⭐️ and feedback 📲 in the comments below, or simply rate the recipe right on the recipe card. I’d really appreciate it. ❤️
Chicken Ghee Roast Recipe
Equipment
- Wide Pan
Ingredients
- 2.5 pounds boneless chicken thighs cut into bite sized pieces
For making ghee roast masala
- 16 byadagi chillies
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds (dhania)
- 2 tbsp black peppercorn
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds (jeera)
- 2 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
- 2 tbsp finely chopped ginger
- 2 tbsp finely chopped garlic
- 1 cup water for grinding into paste
- ⅓ cup yogurt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp ghee
For making ghee roast curry
- ½ cup ghee
- 20 curry leaves (cadipatta)
- 1 cup chopped onion
- ½ tsp salt
- 1-2 tbsp jaggery powder
Instructions
Roasting the spices
- In a wide bottomed pan, dry roast the whole dry byadagi chillies for 3-5 minutes on medium-low flame till well roasted.
- Then set the roasted chillies aside, and in the same pan, add in the coriander seeds, peppercorns, cumin seeds & fennel seeds, and roast them for 3-5 minutes on medium-low flame till well roasted.
Grinding the masala
- In a mixie, add only the roasted chillies first, and give it a quick pulse to crush it.
- Then to the crushed chillies, add the roasted whole spices (coriander seeds, peppercorns, cumin seeds, fennel seeds), and chopped ginger & garlic, along with water to grind the masala.
- Grind till you get a smooth paste.
Marinating the chicken
- In a large bowl, take the boneless chicken pieces, and to it, add the masala from the mixer, along with yogurt, lemon juice / extract, salt and ghee.
- Mix well, and let the chicken marinate in this masala mix for a minimum of 4-6 hours in the fridge.
Making ghee roast chicken
- In a wide bottomed pan, heat up the ghee, and add the curry leaves, and let it roast lightly for 2-3 minutes.
- Then add the chopped onions, a little salt to cook down the onions faster, and roast on medium flame for 8-10 minutes, till the onions turn translucent. No need to brown the onions for ghee roast.
- Next add the marinated chicken, mix well, and cook on medium flame (stirring intermittently) for 30 minutes or so, till the chicken is fully cooked.
- At the halfway mark, or when the chicken is almost done, add in the jaggery powder, mix well, and continue to cook till the chicken is done.
- At first the chicken will release water, but towards the end, you will have a dry-ish curry, with ghee leaving the sides.
- Chicken ghee roast goes very well with rice, roti, and even neer dosa.
Notes
- I have used boneless chicken for this recipe, but you can use bone-in chicken too. Both versions taste divine! Just don’t skimp on the ghee!
- This recipe calls for byadagi chillies, which are not as spicy as whole dry red chillies, and impart more color than the regular red chillies. Which is why regular spicy red chillies will not make a good substitute here.
- Even though byadagi chillies are not too spicy, if 16 chillies are too much for you, you can reduce it by a few, but then also reduce the quantity of jaggery powder you are adding to 1 tbsp instead of 2. Even with 16 chillies, you can choose to add only 1 tbsp jaggery powder instead of 2, if you prefer a spicier ghee roast.
- If you are refrigerating your chicken, remember to thaw it for at-least 30 minutes at room temperature before adding to the hot pan.
- It’s not mandatory, but it’s ideal to use a wide bottomed pan, as mentioned in the recipe, to get close to the dryish-consistency of the final dish.
Nutrition
Video Recipe
If you’d like FREE recipes and meal prep ideas delivered directly to your email inbox every Friday in one short email, then subscribe to the Foodie Friday list HERE, and never run out of ideas on what to cook over the weekend or prep for the week ahead. 🙂
Delicious
Thank you so much.