Rara Chicken Curry (North Indian Smoky Onion Pepper Cardamom curry)

Rara chicken curry, a North Indian Smoky Onion Fennel Pepper Cardamom curry, that is absolutely bursting with amazing complex flavors! Prepare it as-is with tofu or use your protein of choice to make it your own! It is delicious served with flatbread, naan, or rice.

Today, we are making vegan chicken rara. The pronunciation of this has a D or an H in the second R, but you can pronounce it however you like.

I’ve been exploring meat-heavy and regional Indian dishes, and developing easier and vegan versions of those. And this rara chicken is my most recent adaptation in this series!

The origins of rara chicken curry are disputed. It either comes from the Punjabi or Himachal region(north indian states), or it may come from Lucknowi cuisine(mid eastern state cuisine). There are different stories about it, but either way, it is an absolutely delicious North Indian curry! 

When you make these recipes with meat, it requires a lot more steps as well as cooking the meat in the sauce for a much longer time. But when we’re using plant-based protein — like tofu, beans, or chickpeas — they don’t need that much time in the sauce. If you’re using other vegan proteins, like seitan or soy curls, you can cook those in the sauce for a much longer time for a really good flavor infusion. This curry has both meaty tofu pieces and mince meat style tofu crumble. Substitute these to preference.

Rara chicken uses lots of umami-packed onion caramelized with whole spices, and then you add in a rara masala blend. The black cardamom, clove, and fennel seeds give an entirely different flavor to the dish, and also there’s quite a bit of Kashmiri chili powder to add a vibrant, red color and even more amazing flavor. If you don’t use Kashmiri chili powder and use paprika, the color payoff will be a little less. Different brands of Kashmiri chili powder will have different color payoffs and heat as well.

There are obviously many spices in this dish, but if you don’t have a spice or two, that’s fine. It’ll still turn out absolutely delicious, so definitely try it. 

We toast the spices for the rara masala blend before grinding them, because it is also used as a finishing spice. It is important that you roast the finishing spice beforehand to give the final blend a melded flavor profile. Otherwise, some of the spices, like fennel, will show up a lot more strongly in the spice blend, and some of the spices might make everything taste a bit too earthy if they’re not toasted. 

Rara chicken curry is a very thick-sauced dish. If you prefer more sauce, add in more water, stock, or non-dairy milk. The sauce is simmered for quite a bit of time to get all that flavor payoff out of the spices.

One of the main reasons I’m making vegan versions of these meaty dishes is that they tend to have a lot more spices, and decadent sauces compared to the vegetarian versions. This is either because the meat needs more seasoning, or because meat dishes are more pricey (in India). When you’re paying that much for a dish in a restaurant, you want something decadent and creamy with a complex flavor profile. 

But all of that flavor is actually in the sauce, so we’re using that same sauce and all of those spices with plant-based protein. You can also add roasted veggies to the sauce instead for a really flavor-packed veggie side.

Why You’ll Love Rara Chicken Curry

• simplified, plant-based version of a North Indian classic curry
• roasted whole spices give the tofu and sauce amazing flavors from cardamom, cloves, fennel seeds, and more
• one-pan meal
• versatile! Bake or fry the tofu, or use protein of your choice. It’s even OK if you’re missing a few of the spices.
• gluten-free and nut-free with easy soy-free option

Ingredients and Substitutions

• whole spices – For the rara masala blend, you’ll need black peppercorns, cloves, black and green cardamom pods, a bay leaf, and fennel seeds. For the rara curry sauce, you’ll need cumin seeds, a black cardamom pod, and a cinnamon stick.
• ground spices – The rara masala also uses a little bit of ground nutmeg. To coat the tofu, use garlic powder and Kashmiri chili powder. For the sauce, use ground coriander and Kashmiri chili powder.
• tofu – Choose firm or extra firm tofu for this recipe. We are going to tear some up for the big pieces of meat and crumble some for the minced meat that’s also common in rara curry. For soy-free, use beans or seitan. You can also use soy curls instead of tofu, if you prefer. You can also use lentils, chopped walnuts, or veggie grounds for the mince portion.
• cornstarch – Helps the spices stick to the tofu and helps the tofu crisp up in the pan.
• oil – To sauté.
• onion – Caramelized onion is the base for the curry sauce.
• hot green chili – Half a chili adds some good heat to this dish. Use Serrano or similar, and chop it finely.
• ginger garlic paste – You can use an equivalent amount of minced ginger and garlic instead, if you don’t have the paste.
• tomato puree – With the onion, this is the rest of the sauce base.
• water or stock – Adds moisture to the sauce.
• garnishes – Garnish this with fresh cilantro and lime juice to add a fresh flavor element.

How to Make Rara Curry

Make the rara masala blend. 

Add all of the whole spices to a small skillet over medium heat, and cook them until the fennel seeds start to change color. If your bay leaf is too large, you can tear it into a couple of pieces, so that it toasts up easily, 3 to 4 minutes.

Then, transfer the roasted spices to a spice grinder or coffee grinder, add the nutmeg, and grind them up into a powder. The bay leaves will take longer to break down, but you want to powder the bay leaves entirely, otherwise they will be annoying (or can cause cuts) in your mouth. 

Make the tofu.

Press the tofu, if you haven’t already, then tear about 12 ounces of it into 3/4” organic shapes. Crumble the remaining 2 ounces into a separate bowl, and set aside.

Add the garlic powder, Kashmirhi chili powder, salt, half of the rara spice blend, and the cornstarch to a small bowl, and mix really well. Then, sprinkle it over the torn tofu, tossing well to coat. 

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, and add 1 teaspoon oil. Once the oil is hot, add the tofu to the skillet. Spread it evenly, cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then flip the tofu and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Now, toss the skillet a couple of times, so the tofu is mostly golden on the edges. Remove the tofu from the skillet, and set it aside.
To bake the tofu instead: spread the coated tofu on a parchment lined baking sheet, drizzle the teaspoon of oil over the pieces, and then bake at 400° F (205° C) for 20 minutes, or until golden. 

Make the sauce. 

To the same skillet, add a teaspoon of oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and wait for them to change color significantly and darken and get fragrant. This can take anywhere from 1 to 3 minutes. Mix in the black cardamom and cinnamon stick for a few seconds, then add the onion and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt.

Mix well, and cook the onion for 6 to 9 minutes, or until evenly golden. After about 5 minutes of cooking the onion, reduce the heat to medium. Add splashes of water in between to help the onion brown onions brown evenly. 

Once they’re browned, add in another splash of water and add the ground spices, green chili, and ginger garlic paste.

Mix in and cook for a minute. If you’re using minced ginger and garlic, cook for an extra minute, so that the garlic cooks well. Then, mix in the tomato puree, water, and the crumbled up tofu. Cover with the lid, and let the tomato puree cook down for 6 to 8 minutes. 

Open the lid, and mix in another 1/2 to 1 cup of water or stock. Fold in your crisped up tofu, then cover with the lid again and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Once the sauce is pretty thick and coating the tofu, switch off the heat. For a saucier rara chicken curry, you can add in more stock or non fairly milk or cream and bring to a boil.

Garnish with cilantro and lime juice, and serve with naan, flatbread, or rice.

What to Serve with Rara Chicken

Serve with naan, flatbread, or rice and veggie sides of your choice, such as Diwani Handi vegetables or saag aloo.