• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Sinfully Spicy
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • About
    • Contact
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Main Dishes » Meat Main Dishes
    5 from 18 votes

    Dahi Chicken

    Published: Mar 23, 2022 by Tanvi Srivastava 11 Comments

    Jump to Recipe

    This post may contain affiliate links.

    Dahi Chicken or Dahi Murgh is a tangy & mellow yogurt chicken dish from north indian cuisine. It has a thick textured gravy. Pair dahi chicken with rotis or paratha for a delicious weeknight meal.

    Dahi Chicken in a sage colored bowl close up

    Somedays when mom used to run out of tomatoes, she would make yogurt based curries. Everyone loved the change of taste from the regular onion - tomato masala especially during the summer months.

    One cannot have too many chicken curries recipes up their sleeve, right? I have shared another yogurt based chicken recipe in the past. However, this dahi chicken is different from the chicken in yogurt & cardamom sauce in cooking method, spices as well as taste.

    What is Dahi Chicken?

    Dahi =Yogurt. Dahi Chicken is a mild chicken dish from the north indian (punjabi) cuisine. It is also called curd chicken curry. It is dryish (without a lot of gravy) and has a thick masala coating the chicken. The chicken cooks in its own juices and moisture from yogurt without addition of water. Due to use of full fat yogurt, it is quite creamy without any heavy cream or nut pastes. You can make it for everyday meals as well as include it in your dinner party menus.

    Most indian chicken recipes use yogurt so what's different here you may ask. Firstly, yogurt is the main ingredient in the sauce. Secondly, the masala in this recipe is made by sautéing together browned (light caramelized) onions and dahi together with fresh ground spices which make up for robust creamy flavors. Quite different from the usual method of adding yogurt to chicken curries towards the end of cooking.

    The dish has a sourish tang and is not as hot because the yogurt mellows down the masala. The masala has a prominent taste of black cardamom and black pepper. It should traditionally be cooked in mustard oil, however since mustard oil is an acquired taste for many due to its strong sharp aroma and taste, you can substitute with ghee or any other neutral oil.

    Ingredients

    Ingredients for Dahi Chicken
    • Bone In Chicken - For curries I always prefer dark meat bone in chicken. Use skinless chicken pieces. I usually use "curry cut" that I buy from my middle eastern grocer. You can buy bone in chicken from stores and remove the skin using a paper towel. A mix of both or just drumsticks or only chicken thighs will work wonderfully as well.
    • Full Fat Yogurt - I use malai top (creamy) indian style dahi (plain yogurt) from indian stores. You can use greek yogurt or plain full fat yogurt from brands like stony field or chobani. Some yogurt brands have corn starch mixed in as a thickener, please read label before purchasing and avoid.
    • Oil - When I make it on weeknights, I use mustard oil. If you are cooking for parties, go for ghee.
    • Onions - Ideally yellow sweet onions are best but I use whatever I have at home on a particular day. Red, yellow, white- it will all work.
    • Ginger and Garlic Paste - Pound or process together equal parts peeled garlic & ginger to a coarse paste using mortar pestle or a small blender jar.
    • Tomato Paste (Optional)- You just need a tablespoon. Substitute with store bought or homemade tomato puree. It adds a wonderful sweetish acidity towards the end.
    • Spices For the Fresh Ground Masala - Coriander, cumin, cloves, dried chillies, black cardamom (seeds only), black peppercorns, nutmeg & turmeric.
    • Kasuri methi (optional) - Are dried fenugreek leaves which are commonly used to add a unique aroma and taste to north indian curries. They are easily available in indian stores. You can skip if you don't have.

    How To Make Dahi Chicken

    • Dry roast the spices and grind them into a corse powder.
    • Rub half of the the spices over chicken and mix half with yogurt.
    Spices in yogurt and on chicken
    • Heat up oil and sear the spice rubbed chicken on both sides. Sear in batches.
    Mustard Oil Seared Chicken
    • Temper the remaining oil with cinnamon & bay leaves.
    • Add ginger garlic and saute for few seconds.
    • Add the onions and cook them until the onions are caramelized and browned (not dark brown).
    Caramelized Onions & Whole Spices
    • Mix in the yogurt on low heat and saute it immediately. Cook with the onions till you see oil bubbles separating.
    • Add the chicken, mix and cover the pot.
    Yogurt Sauce With Chicken
    • After about 25 minutes, the chicken should be cooked through. Mix in the tomato paste(if using).
    • Saute on high heat for 2-4 minutes and finish with kasuri methi & cilantro.Serve warm.
    Dahi Chicken in a cooking pot

    Serving & Variations

    Dahi chicken is amazing with all sorts of flatbreads and a side salad and chutney. It is also a delicious side dish with yakhni pulao or dal. You can store it for 2-3 days in the fridge.

    Here are a few variations you can try

    • Make it Spicy - Mix in some chopped thai bird green chilies right before serving.
    • Deluxe - When you are serving for parties, you can also finish it with 2-4 tablespoons heavy cream.
    • Kid friendly - This dish has quite a kick of black pepper, reduce the black pepper quantity if you are making for kids.
    • Make it Vegetarian - You can use this recipe for a vegetarian version with paneer, baby potatoes or gobhi(cauliflower) etc. Sprinkle a little ground masala on paneer or par boiled potatoes or blanched gobhi and pan fry in oil. Mix rest of the ground spices with yogurt and make the sauce following the recipe. Add pan fried paneer, potatoes or gobhi to the cooked masala and finish cooking them in masala. Its really delicious!!
    Dahi Chicken Served With Roti & Onions

    Few Tips

    • You can make this recipe with boneless chicken. Use boneless skinless chicken thighs. I would recommend rubbing the chicken with ground spices and letting it sit for 3-4 hours for extra flavor.You don't need to marinate if you use bone in chicken, the masala gets a ton of flavor from the bones while cooking.
    • Make sure that the chicken is dry when you rub the spices. Sear chicken on medium heat to avoid spices from sticking or burning.
    • If you want, you can rub the chicken with fresh ground spices and a little yogurt and marinate for a few hours or up to 1 day for extra deep flavors (This is in fact, how bengali doi murgi is cooked) However, for this recipe, do prepare the masala by sautéing yogurt (quantity as mentioned in recipe) along with browned onions, this gives the right taste to the dish.
    • Make sure that the yogurt is not too watery or too sour. You can use hung curd as well. Watery yogurt will not give you a thick masala, so please avoid.
    • I love the sweetish acidity that tomato paste adds. You can absolutely skip it. I find it better than adding sugar.
    Dahi Chicken in a Sage Colored bowl
    Dahi Chicken Featured Image

    Dahi Chicken Recipe

    Tanvi Srivastava
    Dahi Wala Chicken or Dahi Murgh is a spicy & tangy chicken dish in a mellow yogurt sauce flavored with fresh ground spices.
    4.95 from 18 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 40 minutes mins
    Total Time 50 minutes mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Indian
    Servings 5
    Calories 488 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    For The Chicken

    • 1.6 lb (~750g) bone in chicken 10-12 pieces
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    • ½ teaspoon salt

    For the Dry Spices

    • 2 tablespoon coriander seeds
    • 12-15 black pepper corn
    • 4 cloves
    • 4 whole dry red chillies adjust to taste
    • 2 black cardamom seeds only
    • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
    • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
    • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
    • 1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste

    For The Sauce

    • 4-5 tablespoon oil or ghee
    • 2 bay leaf
    • 2 inch cinnamon stick
    • 1 tablespoon ginger garlic minced
    • 1 cup onion thinly sliced
    • ¾ cup yogurt , use whole yogurt
    • 1 tablespoon tomato paste or 2 tablespoon tomato puree (optional)
    • ¼ teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder or paprika optional
    • ½ teaspoon kasuri methi optional

    Instructions
     

    • Pat the chicken dry using a paper towel.Once dried, rub the lemon & salt. Set aside for 5 minutes.
    • Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, on low heat, dry roast all the whole spices [except turmeric,nutmeg & salt] till you smell the aroma. About 3 minutes.
    • Let the roasted spices cool down a bit. Once cooled, tip into your coffee grinder or using mortar & pestle, coarsely grind the spices.
    • Add half of the ground spices, turmeric, salt and nutmeg to the chicken. Thoroughly rub all over.Let while you work on the masala.
    • Whisk the other half of the spice powder with yogurt.Keep near.
    • In your cooking pot, heat up oil. Once oil is slightly smoky, layer the chicken in batches in oil. Here, the idea is just to sear and seal the chicken [not cook it]. You can do it in a non stick pan as well. I just use the same pot. Let sear on both sides. Once seared, remove from oil in a plate.
    • Add bay leaf and cinnamon to the remaining oil in the pot. Saute for 10 seconds and then add the ginger and garlic. Saute for another 10 seconds and then add the onions.
    • Cook the onions till nicely caramelized and browned (but not dark brown).About 5-7 minutes.
    • Add the yogurt and combine well with onions. Cook for 2 minutes stirring constantly to avoid curdling. You will slowly see yogurt releasing water. TIP: Whenever adding yogurt to hot pot, ensure that the stove is on the lowest mark.
    • Keep cooking for another 2-3 minutes and once you see that the masala is oily, add the chicken along with juices. Bump up the heat to medium and mix the chicken well till its coated in the onion yogurt masala.
    • Cover the pot and let cook for 20-25 minutes or till chicken is done. Dont add water. As the chicken will cook,it will release its own juices which are enough along with moisture of yogurt to cook it.You will need to stir 2-3 times in between to make sure that the chicken is not sticking to the bottom of the pot.
    • Once the chicken is cooked, add the tomato paste, kashmiri red chilli and kasuri methi. Mix together and saute on high heat for 2-3 minutes.
    • Finish with cilantro and serve warm.

    Notes

    • You can make this recipe with boneless chicken. Use boneless skinless chicken thighs. I would recommend rubbing the chicken with ground spices and letting it sit for 3-4 hours for extra flavor.
    • Make sure that the chicken is dry when you rub the spices. Sear chicken on medium heat to avoid spices from sticking or burning.
    • Make sure that the yogurt is not too watery or too sour. You can use hung curd as well. 
    • I love the sweetish acidity that tomato paste adds. You can absolutely skip it. I find it better than adding sugar.
    Variations 
    • Make it Spicy - Mix in some chopped thai bird green chilies right before serving.
    • Deluxe - When you are serving for parties, you can also finish it with 2-4 tablespoons heavy cream.
    • Kid friendly - This dish has quite a kick of black pepper, reduce the black pepper quantity if you are making for kids.
    • Make it Vegetarian - You can use this recipe for a vegetarian version with paneer or gobhi(cauliflower).Simply mix the ground spices with yogurt and make the sauce following the recipe. Add fried paneer or shallow fried gobhi to the cooked masala. Its delicious!!
    • You can also use this spice rub on chicken and vegetables, grill and serve as it is - so so good!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 488kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 27gFat: 37gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gMonounsaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 147mgSodium: 861mgPotassium: 621mgFiber: 3gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 612IUVitamin C: 57mgCalcium: 106mgIron: 3mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
    Meat Main DishesChicken

    More Meat Main Dishes

    • Butter Chicken Featured Image.
      Classic Butter Chicken Recipe (Fresh Tomatoes)
    • Kadai Goat Featured Image.
      Slow Cooked Kadai Goat (Punjabi Style)
    • Indian Roast Chicken Featured Image.
      Indian Roast Chicken (Masala Roasted Whole Chicken)
    • Punjabi Kadai Chicken Featured Image.
      Authentic Indian Kadai Chicken (Boneless Thighs)

    Share This Recipe

    • Facebook
    • X
    • Email

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      4.95 from 18 votes (17 ratings without comment)

      I'd Love to Hear from You! Cancel reply

      If you tried this recipe, please leave a star rating and share your feedback below. Your input helps me refine my recipes and guides others too. As always, thank you so much for your support!

      Thank you,
      Tanvi

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




    1. Nikhil

      April 10, 2022 at 12:42 am

      Hello. If one were to make this with boneless chicken as per one of your variations, how would this change the cooking time? Thanks.

      Reply
      • Tanvi

        April 10, 2022 at 12:58 am

        Depending on how big your boneless chicken pieces are, it should take 15-18 minutes for chicken to cook. Please use boneless chicken thighs. Thanks

        Reply
        • Nikhil

          April 10, 2022 at 12:51 pm

          Thanks so much. I'll make this in a few days! I still make your chicken bhuna-- best recipe ever, and it's been ca. 10 years!

        • Tanvi

          April 10, 2022 at 2:28 pm

          Yay! that makes me so happy 🙂

    2. Jan Scherders

      May 08, 2022 at 6:29 am

      Today i made your Dahi Chiken. It was reaylly TOP. I made it with three chicken legs and I used a cleaver to make smaller pieces.

      Reply
    3. Jan Scherders

      May 08, 2022 at 6:32 am

      Today i made your Dahi Chicken. It was really TOP. I made it with three chicken legs and I used a cleaver to make smaller pieces.

      Reply
      • Tanvi

        May 08, 2022 at 9:31 am

        🙂 thank you.

        Reply
    4. Jan

      May 09, 2022 at 10:53 pm

      I also liked the finishing touch with the tomato, kashmiri chili powder and the methi leaves!!

      By the way, if you want the dish to be dryish I think normal yoghurt is not good enough and you have to make some hung up yoghurt. That is very easy to do.

      Reply
      • Tanvi

        May 10, 2022 at 9:24 am

        Yes absolutely. Yogurt & Methi is one delicious combo. Hung curd works great for a dryish masala as you say, I will add that to notes as well. Thank you

        Reply
    5. Ridhi

      June 23, 2023 at 4:49 am

      5 stars
      Loved it! Such a great recipe.

      Reply
      • Tanvi Srivastava

        June 23, 2023 at 4:22 pm

        Thank you! So glad you liked 🙂

        Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Tanvi! If you love Indian food, you are at the right place, browse through hundreds of delicious Indian recipes

    More about me ?

    Popular

    • Chilli Paneer Featured Image.
      Street Style Chilli Paneer
    • Masoor Dal featured Image.
      Simple Masoor Dal Recipe (Spiced Red Lentils)
    • Paneer Burger Featured Image.
      Crispy Pakora Crusted Paneer Burger (Air Fryer)
    • Tandoori Shrimp Tikka featured Image.
      Pan fried Tandoori Shrimp Tikka (Air fryer Option)
    • Pistachio Tiramisu Featured Image.
      Pistachio Tiramisu (Raw Eggfree, No Coffee)
    • Mango Rice Pudding Featured Image.
      Creamy Mango Rice Pudding (Mango Kheer)

    Looking for Something?

    Footer

    back to top

    Links

    • Recipe Index
    • Privacy Policy
    • Editorial Policies

    Free Recipe Book

    • Sign Up! to get your e-copy!

    About

    • About Me

    Copyright © 2025 Sinfully Spicy

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.