The wonders of Kashmir.

July 29, 2011 8:15 AM

I need a chicken kashmiri recipe, just like the restaurants. Boneless chicken in a milky creamy curry with tomatoes and peas and mango flavor.

I can't find a recipe that is like the restaurants anywhere. Either they are a chunky drier curry, or there is no mango, or peas, or any sort of creamy ingredient.

Here is the restaurant's description:

Chicken Kashmiri : Boneless, skinless chicken breast sautéed with fresh tomatoes, onions, and green peas in a mild curry sauce and mango flavor.

It seems to be a staple in American Indian restaurants, many places have this exact description on their menus.

It's very orange, and not spicy, but very flavorful and mildly sweet. It's very silky, not chunky at all.

I've searched everywhere online and I can't find anything that would taste like this! Help!

posted by lettuchi to Food & Drink (12 answers total)

Butter chicken may be what you're looking for. Also called murgh makhani.
posted by Polyhymnia at 10:12 AM on July 29, 2011

Response by poster: Almost, and they don't have a separate Butter Chicken on their menu so that's a good sign; no mango in that though. Do you think they just add mango juice to it?
posted by lettuchi at 10:19 AM on July 29, 2011

I've been hunting around the Internet trying to get a beat on exactly what it is you are talking about - there are plenty of Kashmiri recipes, but they don't include mango.

Please clarify!

Anyway. I think I could build this for you and give you the correct technique based on this blog, this menu, this recipe, and my previous question.


I'm trying to figure out if you should go with coconut milk, yogurt, or a combination. The mango has me stumped because the sweetness in kishmiri chicken seems to be honey.

I'm wondering if the restaurant where you get this does a unique variation with mango, or if you've mixed up the name with a different recipe maybe?

Tell me where you've had this wonderful preparation and I'll try and give you some tips to re-create it.

Um, btw - have you thought of asking the restaurant for their recipe? I was once stumped making Pad Thai, and a chef invited me into the kitchen to demonstrate... So maybe if you suck up to the chef they will be generous with their knowledge?
posted by jbenben at 10:36 AM on July 29, 2011

Kashmiri Chicken at the Indian restaurants I frequent, is always described as having a cashew-based sauce. I've never seen it with mango in it, but I could see that being nice. Really, my experience is that the essence of Kashmiri chicken is the cashew sauce.
posted by arcticwoman at 11:48 AM on July 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

And usually I've seen both Kasmiri and Butter chicken listed on the same menu - I don't think it's the same thing.
posted by arcticwoman at 11:49 AM on July 29, 2011

Response by poster: The restaurant is here: http://www.tandoorofindia.com/menu.html

Hmmm. I didn't taste cashews at all.

Does that help?
posted by lettuchi at 1:26 PM on July 29, 2011

I think I can help you with the mango thing; I would be surprised if there was really mango in that curry - very few real Indian curries have actual mango in them. The mango flavour is probably coming from amchur, dried and powdered green mango, which imparts a tangy taste not unlike tamarind, with a subtle mango undercurrent.
posted by smoke at 5:35 PM on July 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

Additionally - assuming this curry bears even a passing similarity to kashmiri cuisine more generally (and the whole mango thing has me wondering, I confess), the sauce is almost certainly going to be yoghurt or cream-based rather than coconut. They don't be getting a lot of coconuts growing in Kashmir.
posted by smoke at 5:39 PM on July 29, 2011

I have struggled with making smooth, creamy curries like the restaurants myself. While I don't have any tips on the exact dish you want, in general, to get the restaurant consistency, you need to do two things: 1) use full-fat (at least 35%) cream and use more of it than you think you need and 2) after you have made your sauce w/ caramelized onions, spices, tomato puree, etc. throw everything into a blender to smooth it out. The orange-ness can be achieved by first making it very red (through use of tomato puree and/or paprika) then adding cream at the end. Certain spices (e.g. garam masala) will end up making it a dark brownish color. Here is an AskMe I asked a while back about it.
posted by pravit at 6:15 PM on July 29, 2011

I came here to say Amchur powder, but smoke beat me to it. Great stuff, and an unusual sweet/sour flavor.
posted by CunningLinguist at 6:09 AM on July 30, 2011

Also the creamy sauce could be ground cashew.
posted by CunningLinguist at 6:12 AM on July 30, 2011 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you, everyone. :D
posted by lettuchi at 3:11 PM on July 30, 2011