Murgh Taka Tak 

Murgh taka tak is that loud sizzling street-style chicken dish you find at late-night stalls in Delhi, Mumbai, and pretty much every big city in north India now. The name comes from the sound the two tawa spatulas make when the cook chops and tosses everything super fast – taka tak taka tak. It is spicy, smoky, buttery, and full of masala.

You get soft boneless chicken pieces mixed with a thick almost dry gravy that sticks to every bite. People love it with rumali roti, laccha paratha or just straight from the tawa with raw onion rings and green chutney on the side. It takes about 30 minutes from start to finish and tastes exactly like the one from Karim’s or the roadside guy outside your office. This recipe gives you the real deal at home without any fancy equipment.

Ingredients

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How to Make

• Cut chicken into small bite-size pieces (about 1-inch cubes) so it cooks fast.
• Marinate chicken with yogurt, half the ginger-garlic paste, 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder, salt, and a pinch turmeric for 15 to 20 minutes (longer is fine if you have time).
• Heat 2 tbsp oil/ghee in a heavy pan or tawa on high flame.
• Add chicken pieces in single layer and cook until half done and light brown on outside (about 5 to 6 minutes). Remove and keep aside.
• In same pan add remaining oil and butter.
• Throw in chopped onion and fry until golden.
• Add remaining ginger-garlic paste and green chillies, cook 1 minute till raw smell goes.
• Add chopped tomatoes, little salt, and all dry spices (remaining chilli powders, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric).
• Cook on medium-high flame, stirring often, until tomatoes turn mushy and oil starts leaving sides (takes 8 to 10 minutes).
• Add diced capsicum if using and stir 2 minutes.
• Put half-cooked chicken back in pan.
• Mix everything well, cover and keep tossing on high flame for 4 to 5 minutes – this is the taka tak part.
• Crush kasuri methi between palms and sprinkle in.
• Add garam masala and half the fresh coriander.
• Keep tossing until chicken is fully cooked and gravy is thick and shiny (another 4 to 5 minutes).
• Finish with a big squeeze of lemon juice and remaining butter.
• Garnish with leftover coriander and serve hot.

Tips

• Use a thick iron tawa or heavy kadai so it stays screaming hot – that gives the real smoky taste.
• If you want extra restaurant-style red color add 1 tsp tandoori food color or more Kashmiri chilli powder in marinade.
• Some people add a spoon of fresh cream at the end for richer taste, I usually skip it.
• Leftovers taste even better next day, just heat on tawa with little butter.
• Serve with rumali roti or naan and lots of onion rings sprinkled with chaat masala.
• If kids are eating reduce green chilli and regular red chilli by half.
• You can make it ahead till the tomato masala stage, keep in fridge, and finish with chicken when guests arrive.

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History of Murgh Taka Tak

Murgh taka tak is pure north-Indian street food magic, born and raised in the narrow lanes of Old Delhi but now famous across Mumbai, Lahore, and every city with a decent late-night food scene.

Origin of Murgh Taka Tak

You know many people don’t realize that murgh taka tak didn’t even have a proper name until the 1980s. Before that it was just “tawa chicken” or “that spicy chicken the guy makes outside Jama Masjid”. The earliest version came from the Mughal-era kitchens where leftover tandoori or grilled meat was quickly reheated on a huge iron tawa with tomatoes, butter, and fresh garam masala so nothing went waste. The cooks would chop everything together right on the tawa with two heavy spatulas taka tak taka tak and serve it straight to waiting customers. By the 1970s small stalls around Zakir Nagar and Jama Masjid in Delhi started doing only this dish on giant 4-foot tawas. They would cook kilos of chicken at once, flames shooting up, and the sound of metal on metal became the trademark.

Traditional ingredients and methods

Funny thing is the original recipe had almost no spices we think are mandatory today. It was simply chicken, onion, tomato, green chilli, ginger-garlic, salt, red chilli powder, and a big lump of white butter. No capsicum, no kasuri methi, no yogurt marinade. The chicken was usually leftover from tandoori orders so it already had smoky flavor. Everything was cooked on pure desi ghee or reused tandoor fat for extra taste. The cook would keep smashing the tomatoes and chicken together until it became one thick clinging masala. The tawa never cooled down one batch finished, next chicken went straight in. That constant heat is what gives the slightly charred edges people go crazy for.

Regional variations

I think this part is quite interesting because the same dish changes completely once it crosses state borders. In Punjab they call it tawa chicken and add way more garlic and a spoon of pickled chilli paste. Mumbai versions (especially at Bademiya and Ayubs) throw in pav bhaji masala and sometimes even grated cheese for the college crowd. Lahore and Karachi stalls do “chicken taka tak” with extra brain and kidney mixed in that version is actually called “taka tak” more often than plain murgh. In Hyderabad they use more curry leaves and coconut oil which feels totally different but still delicious. Delhi still keeps it closest to the original red, spicy, buttery, and loud.

Cultural significance

Some people say it started this way but I remember hearing from an old cook that murgh taka tak became the unofficial food of Delhi’s night shift. Taxi drivers, hospital staff, college students after late classes everyone needed something hot, cheap, and ready in five minutes. During Ramadan the stalls outside mosques stay open till sehri and serve huge plates with rumali roti to break the fast. In winter it is comfort food at its best you stand around the tawa warming your hands while the cook chops away. Even big weddings now have a live taka tak counter because guests keep going back for seconds.

How it spread and modern use

It’s kind of surprising how fast it travelled. Once Delhi’s street food started appearing on TV shows in the early 2000s every city wanted their own version. Punjabi dhabas on highways put up big signs “Famous Delhi Style Murgh Taka Tak” even if they had never been to Delhi. YouTube made it explode suddenly home cooks everywhere were buying two spatulas and trying to make the taka tak sound in their kitchen kadai. Restaurants now do fancy versions with malai chicken or smoked with coal, but the roadside original still wins every time. Today you’ll find stalls from Surat to Srinagar doing it and even London and Toronto have places that fly in the exact same Kashmiri chilli powder to get the color right.

The beauty is that it never became frozen or packaged food it only exists when someone is standing at a screaming hot tawa chopping chicken with two heavy blades. That sound and that smell can’t be bottled. Every time I make it at home I crank the flame high and try to get at least a little taka tak going, though my neighbors probably hate the noise.

That is pretty much the story I guess. It started as a clever way to use leftovers and became something people drive across town for at 2 am. Not bad for a dish that didn’t even have a name forty years ago.

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Emma

Hi, I’m Emma, a passionate home chef and the heart behind MasterTastes.com. With over 5 years of hands on experience in the kitchen. I specialize in creating simple flavorful and foolproof recipes that bring restaurant quality taste to everyday home cooking.
From quick weeknight meals and traditional Pakistani & Indian classics to modern fusion dishes and indulgent desserts my recipes are tested budget friendly and designed for real life kitchens especially for beginners and busy home cooks.
My goal is simple: to help you cook with confidence impress your family and guests and turn every meal into a delicious memory.