Chicken karahi

Karahi (also called kadai/kadhai) is named after the deep, circular wok-like cooking pot it's cooked in. While the pot has ancient roots in the Indian subcontinent, chicken karahi emerged in the North-West Frontier Province (now KPK province) of Pakistan. The dish became famous through the Malik Karahi restaurants of Peshawar and later spread to Lahore's Food Street. Unlike older, more complex Mughlai dishes, karahi represents a more rustic, straightforward cooking style. Pakistani karahi is cooked fast on high heat and an open fire, with minimal spices, letting the tomato and meat flavours dominate, and oil separation is essential. As a rule, karahi is served in the same pot it's cooked in. In Pakistan, it is traditionally made with goat or lamb, though chicken became popular later. The dish's popularity started across Pakistan through roadside 'karahi houses' where people watched their food being prepared in front of them. Each region developed its own style; in Peshawar it's more tomato-based, less spicy, in Lahore it's richer, with complex spicing. In my hometown, Karachi, it is often spicier with more green chillies.