A perfect weekday meal, chicken hariyali or chicken hara masala is a Pakistani classic flavored with coriander, mint green chilies, garlic and ginger.
About This Recipe
I made Chicken Hariyali or Chicken Hara Masala for the first time using Come Con Ella's wonderful recipe. Hara masala is a popular base for cooking in South Asia, but it was rarely used in my home. It's vibrant and flavorful, offering a welcome change from the heavier tomato and onion mix that many Punjabi households rely on.
I found the recipe in Kausar Ahmed's book The Karachi Kitchen. His variation was slightly different but also delicious. She added the use of scallions, and instead of using diced chicken, she mashed the boneless chicken breasts into thin, even pieces. As I pored over different recipes for this dish, I learned that like many other household classics, hara masala has multiple variations. With that in mind, I've adapted the recipes from Mehrunnisa and Kausar and made a hybrid version that I think works as well.
What Is Hara Masala?
Hara masala enhances its wonderful flavor with fresh ingredients: coriander, mint, green chillies, and sometimes scallions, rather than a complex blend of ground spices. The yogurt base softens the flavor and tenderizes the meat.
I would also like to add that hara masala is not only used with yogurt. You will find many recipes that simply use the ground herbs and chilies as a marinade or cooking sauce.
The dish is perfect for sharing with friends or family who are new to South Asian cuisine or who find too many ground spices overwhelming. I find it versatile enough to enjoy with roti or plain basmati rice. I would pair it with a drier veggie side, like Patta Gobi (fried cabbage) or Gujarati-style aloo (seasoned potatoes).
Ingredients
- Coriander: Large stalks are removed, roughly chopped and tightly packed.
- Mint: Large stems are removed and packed tightly.
- Birds Eye Chilis: I recommend 1-2 depending on your preferred spice level. If you can't find these, you can substitute serrano peppers.
- Full fat yogurt
- Neutral Oil: Any type of neutral oil, such as avocado, canola, or vegetable oil works well.
- Crushed Garlic – Store-bought is fine, or make your own using a mortar and pestle or food processor.
- Boneless Chicken - Any type of chicken fillet works well for this.
- Salt: I used table salt, so just adjust to taste and the type of salt used.
- Shredded Ginger: You can buy this from the store or you can make your own by chopping up a 1-inch piece of ginger in a food processor.
- Red Chili Flakes – I prefer these over ground red chili powder for a stronger flavor.
How To Make It?
Prepare yogurt sauce: Place cilantro, green chilies, mint, and yogurt in a food processor and puree until well combined.
Brown Chicken: Heat oil in a medium saucepan or skillet. Add the crushed garlic and sauté over low heat for about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Increase the heat to high and add the chicken cubes, salt, ground ginger and red chili flakes. Sauté until no longer pink, about 2 to 5 minutes.
Add the yogurt sauce: Reduce the heat and add the yogurt sauce. Stir until chicken is well coated in masala. After cooking, partially cover the pan with a lid and allow the hara masala to bubble and the chicken to tenderize, about 10 minutes.
Bring excess liquid to a boil: remove lid and increase heat to high. Stir continuously to boil off excess water and until the oil begins to separate from the sauce. Remove from the heat and serve with chapati, naan or basmati rice.
Equipment
- 1 Medium-sized saucepan or skillet
- 1 Food processor
Ingredients
- ¾ cup cilantro roughly chopped and tightly packed
- ¼ cup mint tightly packed
- 1-2 bird's eye chilies
- 1 ½ cup full-fat yogurt lightly whisked
- ⅓ cup neutral oil canola/sunflower/vegetable
- 1 pound (~450 grams) boneless chicken diced
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 2 teaspoon crushed garlic
- 2 teaspoon crushed ginger
- 2 teaspoon red chili flakes
Instruction
- Place cilantro, green chiles, mint, and yogurt in a food processor and puree until well combined.
- Heat oil in a medium saucepan or skillet. Add the crushed garlic and sauté over low heat for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Increase the heat to medium. Add the chicken cubes, salt, ground ginger, and red chili flakes. Sauté until no longer pink, about 2-5 minutes.
- Reduce heat and add yogurt mixture. Stir until chicken is well coated with masala.
- Once simmering, partially cover the pot with a lid and allow the hara masala to bubble for about 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid and increase the heat to high. Stir continuously to boil off excess water and until the oil begins to separate from the sauce.
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