Dopiaza is an Indian dish made with onions and meat, often chicken, cooked in two batches with chili and spices. The onions are prepared differently to create layers of flavor, and the dish is served with rice and garnished with cilantro and raw onions.
Dopiaza is an Indian dish made up mostly of onions which are prepared and added to the dish in two separate batches. There is usually one type of meat in the dish, most commonly chicken, although goat, lamb or beef may also be used, as well as okra for a vegetarian preparation. The dish also contains a good deal of chili, giving it a very spicy heat that develops as the ingredients are first fried, then cooked in water, and finally reduced to a thick paste that coats the ingredients. Although the word “dopiaza” is used to mean the fully prepared dish, it can also be used specifically to mean just the onion sauce, which can also be used in other recipes.
The most unique aspect of dopiaza is that a large amount of onions are added at two different points in the cooking process, with each batch of onions prepared differently so that layers of flavor are created. A common way to do this is to chop half the onions very coarsely and the other half very finely. Coarse onions are cooked in the pan only until translucent while thinly diced onions are fried until caramelized and brown. Another method is to chop up a few onions and fry them until translucent, while the other half is placed in a food processor and ground into a paste which is fried until golden brown. A more robust version of dopiaza can be made by cooking a large batch of onions with whatever meat is being used and then, at the end, sprinkling the diced raw onions on top.
One way to make dopiaza is to first fry some of the chopped onions until golden brown and caramelized, removing them from the pan when done. Next, another batch of onions is added to the pan along with spices like cumin and coriander. The onions are fried until translucent, after which the meat is added to the dish and left to brown on the outside. The chopped chiles are placed in the pan along with the caramelized onions, followed by just enough water or stock to cover everything.
The liquid in the dopiaza is reduced until it is very thick and adheres to all ingredients. The finished dish can be garnished with fresh cilantro on top and served with rice, especially if a good amount of chili has been used. Some recipes also have chopped raw onions, accompanied by fresh lime juice, sprinkled on top.
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