Food writer and memoirist Sumayya Usmani first recognised the joys of Northern Pakistani cooking in her teens, using minimal spice but lots of black pepper and fresh ingredients for ample flavour. This beloved dish hails from Peshawar, the vibrant capital of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The magic lies in its simple preparation and theatrical presentation – served sizzling hot in the same karahi (wok) it's cooked in. The mingling of tangy tomatoes, fragrant fresh ginger and blistered green chillies create an intoxicating aroma. Street food, fit for celebrations.
Ingredients
4 servings
3 fat green chillies
0.5 tablespoon ghee
1 tablespoon light olive oil
1 kg chicken on the bone, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns, gently crushed in a pestle and mortar
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
5 Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
Salt
1.5 tablespoons tomato paste
METHOD
STEP 1
Slice the green chillies lengthways from end to just below the top, leaving the stem intact. Heat the ghee and olive oil in a karahi or heavy-based cast-iron pan over a high heat. Once hot, fry the chicken pieces for 10 minutes, stirring constantly until it’s brown all over.
STEP 2
Stir in the peppercorns, garlic and green chillies and fry on a high heat for a couple of minutes. Once smelling fragrant, add the tomatoes and season with half a teaspoon of salt. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat to medium and cover the pan loosely, allowing space for the steam to escape. Leave it to tick away for 10 minutes, stirring every now and then to prevent it from sticking.
STEP 3
Remove the lid and check the tomatoes have broken down into a sauce – if not, crush them with the back of a wooden spoon and continue to cook without the lid until the liquid has evaporated.
STEP 4
Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another 5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the tomatoes have reduced to a thick sauce. Taste to check the seasoning and add more salt and black pepper if needed.
STEP 5
Remove from the heat and scatter over the ginger matchsticks, pieces of butter, fresh coriander and chilli, then squeeze over the lime juice. Serve straight from the pan, with steamed rice or rotis to mop up the sauce.
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