Tawa Chicken Recipes
Bone-in chicken stir-fried on a massive iron tawa (griddle) with tomatoes, green chillies, and butter. A Lahori street food staple — cooked loud, hot, and fast. What happens when tikka meets karahi.
What is Tawa Chicken?
Bone-in chicken stir-fried on a massive iron tawa (griddle) with tomatoes, green chillies, and butter. A Lahori street food staple — cooked loud, hot, and fast. What happens when tikka meets karahi.
Regional Variants at a Glance
| Variant | Region | Prep | Cook | Difficulty | Serves |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tawa Chicken — Lahori Street Style | Punjab | 20m | 25m | Medium | 3 |
| Lahori Tawa Chicken | Punjab | 20m | 40m | Medium | 4 |
| Karachi Tawa Chicken | Sindh | 15m | 35m | Medium | 4 |
| Dry Tawa Chicken | Punjab | 20m | 45m | Medium | 4 |
All Tawa Chicken Recipes
Tawa Chicken — Lahori Street Style
Tawa Chicken is Lahore's most theatrical street food — bone-in chicken cooked furiously on a massive iron tawa over high heat with tomatoes, green chillies, ginger, and butter, all chopped and stirred with a wide metal spatula in a cloud of steam and sizzle. It's fast, loud, intensely flavoured, and absolutely addictive.
Lahori Tawa Chicken
Lahori Tawa Chicken is the sizzling, intensely spiced dish cooked on a concave iron tawa (griddle) — whole chicken pieces stir-fried with tomatoes, green chillies, and generous amounts of butter right at your table in the best restaurants.
Karachi Tawa Chicken
Karachi Tawa Chicken brings Sindh's bold spicing and love of tomato to the tawa — cooked faster and more aggressively than Lahori style, with a saucier masala and distinctive Karachi additions that make it uniquely satisfying.
Dry Tawa Chicken
Dry Tawa Chicken is the masala-reduced, bhuno-intensive version of tawa chicken — where the masala is cooked almost completely away to leave behind intensely flavoured, almost dry chicken pieces with a sticky, caramelised spice coating.