Authentic Chicken Bhuna Masala

Chicken Bhuna Masala, or simply chicken bhuna, is a classic north Indian chicken dish in which chicken is sautéed with a homemade bhuna masala powder(spice blend), onions and yogurt. One pot and takes about 30-45 minutes to make. The semi dry bhuna masala (or thick gravy) that clings to chicken is perfect to scoop with indian flatbreads!

Indian chicken dishes often share a similar spice profile, but several times, it's the cooking techniques—like bhunai in this recipe—that set them apart and create distinctive flavors.

For the best results, bhuna is traditionally made with bone-in chicken or meat (bhuna gosht), as the juices from the bones to add depth to and enrich the flavor of the bhuna masala.

However, if you prefer a more restaurant-style taste, boneless chicken can also be used. Either way, the magic of bhuna lies in the patient, deliberate cooking that transforms simple ingredients into a bold, satisfying taste.

What Does Bhuna Mean

In Hindi, "bhuna" or "bhoona" simply refers "to roast" or "to sauté " on high heat. Bhuna is a cooking style rather than a type of dish. Searing meat or chicken or frying vegetables or masalas (spice pastes) on high heat develops deep flavors. The dishes that are prepared in this manner are called as "bhuna".

Bhuna Chicken

The verb form of bhuna is "bhuno/ bhunana/bhunai". The goal of bhunai is to intensify the flavors by reducing the moisture until the masala is thick, fragrant and deeply caramelized.

Chicken bhuna is a dry-style curry made using bhuna technique. You will bhuno the chicken over high heat until most of the liquid in the sauce dries up and in the process, the chicken is seared and the oil gets separated (which by the way is an indicated of perfect bhunai).

The result is a succulent chicken dish with rich, bold spicy flavors. Please do not add water. The chicken will cook in its own juices as well as water released from yogurt to bring out the best flavor. Adding water will dilute the concentrated bhuna flavor.

Bhuna dishes are highly spiced and very aromatic due to fresh ground spices, however you could control how hot they turn out. Spicy isn't hot, not always! You could dial back the amount of dried chillies & red chili powder going in.

Sometimes when I make bhuna chicken for my kids, I skip the dried chillies and use just black peppercorns. You may skip the green chili peppers at the end as well.

My Recipe Over The Years

1. I first shared this recipe back in 2015, and it quickly became a favorite for many of you.
2. Over the years, I’ve found myself revisiting it time and again, tweaking it here and there. Cooking is such an evolving process—our palates change, we experiment, and we learn new techniques, right? In 2022, I made a small adjustment to the recipe, refining the bhuna masala powder for a more balanced flavor.
3. Then, this summer, inspiration struck while I was enjoying bhuna masala at a friend’s house. Her version was incredible! While she couldn’t give me a precise recipe (many of my Indian friends cook intuitively—no measurements, just instinct), she mentioned a key detail: she includes tomatoes in her chicken bhuna.
4. After some experimenting, I’m excited to share this updated 2024 version. It now incorporates both tomatoes and yogurt, creating a rich and flavorful masala that clings beautifully to the chicken.
5. I use 1 tomato (about 80g) for 2 lbs of chicken- just to add a mild acidic brightness and reduced the yogurt. I’m so pleased with how the bhuna masala turned out, and I’d love to hear what you think!

Which Chicken Cut is the best

• Ideally, bone in chicken. Needless to say, bones add a lot of flavor to any chicken dish and dark meat stays juicy during the searing process. I prepare this dish using whole chicken cut up into medium pieces or a mix of skinless bone in thighs and drumsticks. For latter, I purchase separate packs of thighs & drumsticks, de skin at home and use.
• Here in the States, another option is to use family chicken pack (aka whole chicken cut in 8 pieces) and it works too (you will have to skin the chicken). The only thing to keep in mind when buying a family pack is to check that the chicken pieces aren't too large (i.e. the pack should not weigh a lot).

Tip :- To skin the chicken , grab the skin with a paper towel or napkin and pull away. Also, cold, straight out of the fridge chicken is easier to handle when doing so.

• In India, you could use the usual bone in chicken from the butcher shops. Desi chickens are small in size and hence while cooking the flavors easily seep till the bone.
• Everything said, my husband is leaning towards boneless chicken these days, so in the past, I have used a mix of drumsticks and whole boneless skinless chicken thighs for making it. The thighs remained absolutely juicy by the end of cooking hence proving that you could use those in this recipe if you aren't a fan of bones.
• Lastly, I would not recommend using chicken breast simply because breast won't stand up to the process of "bhuna" and will dry out. It takes about 30-45 minutes of cooking time depending on size of chicken and breast will get stringy.

Other Ingredients

• Cooking Oil- I use mustard oil because it is my first choice when cooking such robust north indian curries. Mustard oil adds a pleasant piquant taste to the chicken, however, don't fuss, use avocado or grape-seed oil. We also need ghee(to finish).
• Whole Spices - Bay Leaf & cinnamon
• Ginger & Garlic - Store bought ginger garlic paste is fine to use. To make at home, in a small blender jar, simply grind together equal quantities(by weight) of fresh ginger garlic.
• Whole Milk Yogurt- I always use full fat yogurt for curries because you are adding it not just for the tang, but also for the richness . Usually I go for indian style malai(creamy) top dahi (curd) from indian stores. However, trust me greek yogurt works fine too.
• Tomato - I used roma tomato.

Spices for Bhuna Masala

Bhuna Masala powder is the soul of this recipe.If you are in a hurry and don’t want to grind fresh powder, substitute with ready to use ground spices. Here are the spices you will need.

• Dried Kashmiri Red chilies - Or Use Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder or Paprika
• Coriander seeds - Or Use Coriander powder
• Cloves - Add cloves straight into oil.
• Cumin Seeds - Or use ground cumin
• Black cardamom - Add straight to oil. It has a unique woody aroma and it lends a smoky sweet flavor. While it cannot be substituted with green cardamom, you could use it if you don‘t have black cardamom. It is a great spice to invest in and stash in your cabinet. Works beautifully for meat curries or even desserts!
• Black peppercorns - or black pepper powder
• Nutmeg

Make Bhuna Masala Powder (Spice Blend)

To make bhuna masala, dry roast the whole spices in a small saucepan on low heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning.

Toast the spices just until their oils activate—avoid over-toasting. Let them cool slightly, then grind to a medium texture using a spice or coffee grinder(I have one dedicated to grinding spices!). You can double the quantity of spices and make extra bhuna masala powder and store in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

Marinate The Chicken

• Make sure that the chicken pieces are dry. Place them in a large bowl.
• Sprinkle 1.5 tablespoon of homemade bhuna masala powder, lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon salt.
• Coat the chicken thoroughly with the spices and salt. Cover, and let it marinate for at least 1-2 hours (overnight for best results!).

How to Make Chicken Bhuna Masala

• Heat a heavy-bottomed, wide pot—one that fits the chicken in a single layer is ideal. Unless specified otherwise, keep the heat on medium.
• Add 2 tablespoon mustard oil to the pot and let heat up until slightly smoky.
• Layer the chicken over hot oil and sear for 3-4 minutes. Flip and sear the other side, then stir to brown all sides until no pink remains. Remove the chicken pieces with tongs or a cooking spoon and set aside on a plate.

• Add the remaining mustard oil to the cooking pot and let heat up.
• Temper the hot oil with bay leaf and cinnamon sticks to temper the hot oil, followed immediately by the chopped onions.
• Cook the onions, stirring regularly, until they turn golden brown (but not too dark), about 6-8 minutes.
• Next, add the ginger paste, garlic paste, pureed tomato, red chili powder and turmeric powder.
• Mix and cook the tomatoes for 3-4 minutes or until you see the oil beginning to seperate.

• Lower the heat to low medium and wait for a minute. Sprinkle the remaining bhuna masala powder over the cooked tomatoes. Then, add the marinated chicken, making sure to scrape any remaining marinade from the bowl into the pot.
• Toss the chicken to combine it well with the onions & tomato masala. For the next 5-7 minutes, bhuno the chicken with the masala on medium heat. You will see that the chicken starts releasing its juices.
• Reduce heat to low and add the whisked yogurt. Immediately stir the chicken to mix with yogurt and keep stirring continously for next 2-3 minutes or until the yogurt has warmed through. This prevents the yogurt from curdling.

• Uncover once the chicken is fully cooked. A visual indicator of chicken doneness is that the chicken flesh will pull away from the drumsticks.
• Bhuno (fry) the chicken on medium heat for another 5-6 minutes to dry out the liquid further and bring out the best bhuna flavor. You will see a layer of oil and a thick masala in the cooking pot.

• Add ghee, slit green chilies(if using) and ginger juliennes, keep the stove on medium and carefully keep moving around the chicken using a spatula or flat wooden spoon making sure that it doesn't stick.
• In about 3 minutes, you will notice that the chicken looks shiny and the masala looks nicely fried. Don't dry out the masala. It will thicken as the curry rests.
• Switch off the stove, add cilantro. It is best if you let the chicken bhuna masala rest for 20 minutes before serving.

Chicken Bhuna in Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker

I am pretty old school when it comes to such classic recipes. I don't use pressure cooker or IP personally because I love to take a peek and tend to the chicken while its cooking. Since its on stove top, I can adjust the stove as needed.

However, yes you can use IP or pressure cooker. I don't think that there will be lot of time saved, may be 10 minutes overall.

Press saute and allow the oil to heat. Make the onion tomato masala, add marinated chicken and yogurt. Saute till you see liquid from yogurt has released. Add ¼ cup water. Close the lid and then pressure cook for 7-8 minutes (for bone in chicken).

Once you open the lid, the chicken will release a lot of its own juices, dry out most of the liquid on high heat setting. Add ginger juliennes & green chillies and and cook for additional 6-7 minutes for the liquid to boil off until the masala is thick. Finish with ghee, green chilies and cilantro.

Serving Chicken Bhuna

Serve chicken bhuna masala with any kind of flatbread. Personally I love it with paratha or tandoori roti.Since it as a spicy dish, a refeshing side of kachumber salad brightens up the meal.

Recipe Tips

• Cooking Pot - Use a wide shallow heavy bottom pan (12 inch or larger). If using a kadai (indian wok), I use a 12 inch or larger. If the pan is not heavy, the masala will burn and stick. Additionally a heavy pan helps in bhunai or searing the chicken.
• Heat Setting - Except when adding yogurt, the heat should be medium or medium high. We don't want the chicken to boil. We want to bhuno it.
• Don't skimp the oil. For bhunai- you need optimum oil. The taste of bhuna dishes comes through best with that extra oil. Else the chicken tastes boiled and flavorless.
• At any point you feel that the chicken or the masala is burning add a light handed splash of water.
• If you are using boneless chicken thighs to make this recipe, half them. They will be 95% cooked in about 10-12 minutes.