Delicious food alert! This cream cheese chicken handi is just fabulous. Rich, smoky, comforting, and so hard to stop eating. This one’s a keeper, y’all.
The flavors of the dish make it taste very desi, but you know what non-desi ingredient sneakily amplifies the good flavors? Dried oregano. Yes, maa'm!
This dish came about as a surprise outcome when I was creating and testing my versions of paneer reshmi chicken handi. Had half a block of cream cheese sitting in the fridge, so I thought, what if I used cream cheese instead of cream and cheese separately.
I know, I know, it's not the same thing, but it probably was a subconscious excuse to use up that cream cheese. Little did I know the dish would turn out so good that I'd make it again the same week. Who knows how many calories later, I had zero regrets. Zilch!
And so here it is, my very delicious cream cheese chicken handi, to grace your table too.
The prep and the cooking are not hard at all. I combine a bunch of simple everday ingredients with yogurt. Then I heat oil, soften onions, and add garlic paste. Chicken goes in next followed by the prepared yogurt mix. When the chicken gets fully cooked, I add bell pepper and cream cheese. That's about 90% of the cooking done.
Finally, some coal-smoke treatment and some butter on top.
It's a lot easier than it sounds, and once you've got the ingredients prepped and ready, it's food on the table under 30 minutes, tops.
I am known for my biryani among friends and family, but I've always got this recipe in my back pocket for when I want to flex my food blogger reputation in potlucks but feel like putting in a lot less effort.
Oh and if you're looking for more creamy chicken dishes, try my white chicken karahi.
Pre-cooking notes and tips
- I use a block of cream cheese, not cream cheese spread. Can't guarantee the same outcome with the spread, as it contains more liquid than a block, less fat content, and the additives used in the spread can make it curdle quickly under high heat.
- Red and yellow onions both work fine, use what you've got on hand.
- I use Thai green chillies, but any kind that you use for desi cooking should work. You've just got to know what you're using in terms of the spice level and then adjust the quantity based on your preference.
- Green bell pepper works the best, but I've also used red once. It made the color of the dish slightly more pink and added a subtle sweet nuance.
- Boneless thighs and breasts both work. I usually go with breasts for this one. You might need to cook the chicken a tad longer if using thighs.
- Once your charcoal is nice and hot and you've put it in the metal/foil bowl, keep the lid ready in your hands. You want to put it on as soon as the oil hits the coal.
- Do not smoke the food too long. Set a timer for 1 minute. If it smokes longer, two things might happen. a) the smokiness may overpower the dish's main aroma and flavors. b) oversmoking often leaves the food smelling like gasoline or ash. You don't want that, do you?
Serving ideas
I love this handi with warmed-up, buttered garlic naan. My oh my, drooling just at the thought of this combo. Regular naan works too, as does kulcha and roti. Paratha, of course, for an all-out treat, but it's a pretty heavy dish all by itself, just saying.
I wouldn't recommend rice. The flavors don't shine nearly as much with it. Some sliced onions mixed with lemon juice or kachumber are great condiments to put out on the table, though not at all essential. This one isn't to be paired with chutneys or raitas.
And that's a wrap!
Oo mama mia, I am just hungry writing this post. This dish is so good you've got to trust me when I say it's a must-try. If you make it, I'd love to hear how it turned out in your kitchen. Until next time.
Happy cooking ~ Nelo
Cream Cheese Chicken Handi
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 medium onion - finely sliced
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste - preferably homemade
- 1 pound (500 g) boneless skinless chicken - sliced into bite-sized strips
- 1 medium green bell pepper / capsicum - sliced into bite-sized strips
- ½ cup (115 g) cream cheese - cut into small pieces (see Note A)
- a small lump or briquette of charcoal - for smoking, roughly a 2 to 3 inch piece
- 1 tablespoon butter
Yogurt Mix
- ¾ cup (190 g) yogurt - whisked until smooth
- 2 small green chillies - finely chopped, I use Thai chillies, adjust to taste ⓘ
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder - aka zeera powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder - aka dhaniya powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- ½ teaspoon white pepper powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes - aka kutti lal mirch, adjust to taste ⓘ
- ¾ teaspoon regular white salt - aka table salt
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine all ingredients listed under "yogurt mix", whisk well and set it aside.
- Heat oil over medium heat in a wide pot/pan/wok. Add onion and cook until softened and translucent. Don't let it turn golden.
- Add garlic paste, cook for 30 seconds. Then add chicken and cook until it's no longer pink on the surface.
- Reduce the heat. Mix in the yogurt mixture you prepared earlier. Cover with lid, bring to a simmer, then adjust the heat just enough to maintain a very gentle simmer. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. In the meantime, heat your charcoal until it takes on a red glow.
- Add bell pepper/capsicum and cream cheese to the pot. Cook until the pepper gets tender crisp and the cheese melts.
- Turn off the heat and move the pot off the burner. Create a small pocket in the center of the food, set a small metal or makeshift foil bowl in it. Carefully place the hot charcoal in this bowl using metal tongs.
- Drizzle about a teaspoon of cooking oil over the charcoal and immediately cover the pot. Let it smoke covered for 1 minute. Don't leave it much longer or the smokiness will overpower the flavors.
- Remove the bowl and the coal. Return the pot to the burner on low heat to warm up the chicken handi again. If the consistency is too thin, reduce the liquid over low heat. Keep in mind that it will thicken further once removed from the heat.
- Give it a mix and taste for salt. Add more if needed, but do so gradually, no more than ¼ teaspoon at a time.
- Drop the butter right on top, don’t mix it in. Turn off the heat. Cover the pot and let the butter melt. I usually finish it off with some chopped red chilies for a nice pop of color, but that's optional. Serve it up with some hot naan or roti.
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