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Chicken Taka Tak (Tak Tak or Taka Tak) is a popular street food in Lahore, Pakistan. In this delicious dish, chicken is cooked in a gravy infused with Lahori spice mix and served with lacha paratha, bread, tandoori roti or rumali roti. The chicken has a thick, minced meat-like consistency that comes from shredding the meat during cooking rather than mincing it. This food is usually prepared in dhabas and a large roadside tawa. This delicious chicken dish uses lots of spices and oil for a luxurious taste. But do you know what “Takatek” is in this dish?

The name Takatak comes from the way chicken is prepared for this dish. This dish is prepared with a spoon called a tabata or oratoni, a flat metal spatula with a small edge. This spoon is constantly used to shred the chicken while cooking this dish. The sound of using this spoon is like “taktaktaktaktaktaktakak”. Because of this sound, this dish is called “Chicken Takatek”. Unlike other dishes where the chicken is light inside, in this dish the chicken is completely covered in masala thanks to the cooking technique. When you cook the chicken on the tawa, the whole chicken is fried in the masala which gives it a unique taste. Would you like to learn how to make this amazing dish at home?

Start by heating oil in a kadai. Then add chopped onions, garlic, ginger and green peppers. Fry until the onions are soft and slightly pink. Add all dry spices like turmeric powder, red chili powder, crushed coriander seeds, crushed black pepper, garam masala powder and salt to taste. Stir and then add the chopped tomatoes. After separating the oil, add the chicken cubes and stir with a smooth and sharp spatula until the chicken meat is shredded. Don’t forget the unique sound of “Takatako”! Add coriander and green pepper. Cover and simmer until chicken is done. Garnish with mint leaves and grated ginger. Serve with Lacha Paratha or Tandoori Roti.