Kali mirch chicken curry is a pour and cook recipe made by simmering chicken thighs in a spiced yogurt sauce.
The Easiest Black Pepper Chicken
We’re tossing chicken thighs and a spiced yogurt sauce in an instant pot, pressing the start button, and calling it a day. These crazy times call for low-maintenance, fuss-free recipes. Thankfully this murgh kali mirch (black pepper chicken curry) is as simple as it gets.
This quarantine is physically and mentally exhausting. Figuring out what to cook is in itself stressful, especially when you have a million other things on your mind.
I think a lot of us want good food and we don’t want to spend a lot of time making it. In fact, it’d be nice if a meal just cooked itself. Is that too much to ask?
I’m here for you with a dish that requires very little effort. You just need to blend a few things together to make a sauce and then sit back and wait while the instant pot cooks dinner for you.
“Ashley, yet another amazing recipe from you! This was so easy and quick and delicious! Every single recipe of yours that I have tried has turned out so well. Thank you for all the effort you put into creating and testing these recipes and for so kindly sharing them with us. Absolutely love your work!”
Raghavi
Kali mirch means black pepper and since that’s a featured ingredient in this dish, you’ll want to use freshly ground black pepper for the best flavor. While in normal (pre-covid19) circumstances, I’d tell you to wait to make this until you can get your hands on black peppercorns – given what’s going on, I actually think this will still be pretty good even with regular black pepper.
The other ingredients you’ll need are chicken thighs, yogurt and a few spices.
If you want to put in a bit more effort, you can stir some cashew flour into the curry after it’s done cooking. This makes the dish a little nuttier, creamier and thicker. My husband prefers this dish with cashew flour but I think it’s great either way, so if you’re nut-free, no worries.
You might wonder whether you can add cashews directly to the blender while making the sauce (the way I’ve done in previous recipes – my Green Chicken Masala, for example) but the answer is no – I’ve tried a few times and have gotten the dreaded burn sign. Rather than adding more water to the recipe/blender, I think this dish turns out best if you stir ground nuts in at the end.
You can serve this chicken curry over plain Basmati Rice or Jeera Rice or Pea Pulao.
I’ll be sharing more simple pour and cook recipes over the next few weeks. In the meantime, if you’re looking for a few more ideas, try:
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless and skinless chicken thighs
Black Pepper Sauce:
- 1 cup yogurt
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 inch ginger
- 1 green chili
- 1 tablespoon kasoori methi
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
- 2 tablespoons cashew flour optional
Instructions
- Blend the ingredients listed under “black pepper sauce” and pour this over the chicken thighs. Mix well.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 5 minutes at high pressure.
- Naturally release pressure or wait 10 minutes then release pressure.
- You can either shred the chicken right in the pot or use kitchen shears/scissors to cut the chicken into cubes.
- Optional step: Press the sauté button, add cashew flour to the pot and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Garnish with additional black pepper and serve.
Notes
- *Adding cashew flour will make the sauce a bit nuttier, creamier and thicker.
Nita says
Can you add almond flour instead of cashew flour?
Amara says
Tasted great, mild but bright. Unfortunately my sauce (normal fat) split in the instant pot. I used almond flour and cornstarch to thicken the sauce as I didn’t have cashew flour.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Amara, glad you liked it and were able to thicken using almond and cornstarch 🙂
Kate says
This sauce is so good (definitely add the cashew powder). I added in a pound of potatoes to stretch this meal, and I wish I had made 1.5 times the marinade so there would have been more to soak up with the naan!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
I’m so glad you like this recipe! One of my favorite easy ones!
Kanika says
Thank you Ashley for posting such a flavourful and easy recipe.
My 2.5 year old is not a chicken fan but he relished this dish and kept asking for more☺️
So it says it all!!!
I love to try your recipes. Once again Thank you for all your efforts that you put in to make our lives easy🙏
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Kanika, thank you for the kind words! I’m so happy to hear that your little one enjoyed the dish – that’s always the best!
Protima says
Hi,
Would this recipe work with the red onions you get in India?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Yes!
Sweta says
Thank you for the wonderful and easy recipe. I didn’t have much time and also didn’t have raw chicken, so cooked this recipe with grilled chicken. I I have put 1 and 1/2 cup of water (next time I will be more careful) to make the black pepper sauce but it made my sauce so watery. I made it thick by putting cashew nut paste and sauté it for 5 minutes.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Sweta, glad it turned out well for you!
Elizabeth says
I am wondering what kind of green chili you recommend? I love all your recipes! They are amazing.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
I like using either small Indian green chilies (found at your local Indian grocery store) or serrano peppers 🙂