First, we’ll prepare a special masala for this chicken recipe. Take a pan and add 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, 4 green cardamoms, 3 small pieces of cinnamon, 4 to 5 cashews, 4 to 5 almonds, and 2 to 3 whole dried red chillies (I have broken them into pieces). Dry roast all these ingredients on low heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until fragrant.

Turn off the heat and let it cool down completely. Transfer it to a mixer jar when it cools and grind it to make a powder. 

Keep this powder aside for later use.

Now, let’s marinate the chicken. Take a large mixing bowl and put 500 grams of chicken, ½ cup of curd or yoghurt, 1 tablespoon Kashmiri red chilli powder, salt to taste 3 to 4 tablespoons of the prepared spice powder, and 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste. Mix everything well and let the chicken marinate for at least 1 hour. If you are short on time, marinate it for 30 minutes.

Next chop 2 medium-sized onions and put them in a mixer jar and make a paste. Set the onion paste aside. 

Similarly, grind 2 medium-sized tomatoes into a paste and set it aside as well.

Now heat a pan on medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of butter and ¼ cup of oil (adding oil prevents the butter from burning). When the oil is become hot, add the onion paste and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes.

Next, add the marinated chicken and cook on high flame for 5 to 6 minutes. 

 Then, add the tomato paste and cook on high flame for 3 to 4 minutes until the tomato water dries up and oil starts to appear on the surface.

Once the masala is well cooked, add 1 cup of water and mix everything well. Cover the pan and cook the chicken on a medium flame for 10 to 15 minutes. If you marinated the chicken for only 30 minutes then you may need to cook it a little longer. If marinated for 3 to 4 hours then only 10 to 15 minutes should be enough for the chicken to become tender.

When the chicken is cooked thoroughly add 1 tablespoon of dried fenugreek leaves (Kasuri methi), 3 finely chopped green chillies, and ½ cup of cream. Cook for another 2 minutes, and your Darbaari Chicken will be ready.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with roti, paratha, chapati, or rice.