Chargha is a whole chicken, marinated, steamed and then fried or roasted until the skin crisps. It is a Lahori speciality and it is served whole, which is most of the reason it exists: it is a dish designed to be put in the middle of a table and pulled apart by hand.
What the word means
Chargha simply means chicken in Punjabi usage, but in a restaurant context it always refers to this preparation: whole bird, deep marinade, steamed then fried. You will see it spelled chargha, charga and charha. They are the same dish.
Why it is steamed before it is fried
A whole chicken cannot be fried through without burning the outside first. So the bird is scored to the bone, rubbed with a marinade of yoghurt, lemon, chilli, garam masala and ajwain, rested, and then steamed until it is almost cooked. Only then does it go into hot oil, and only for long enough to crisp.
That two-stage method is the whole trick. The steaming carries the marinade into the meat rather than leaving it on the skin, which is why chargha tastes seasoned all the way through where a plain roast chicken does not.
What it tastes like and who it feeds
Tangy from the lemon and yoghurt, warm rather than fiery, with the ajwain giving it a distinct note that separates it from tandoori chicken. One chargha comfortably feeds three people with bread, or two if it is the only thing on the table.
What it costs in Sharjah
Charga is AED 40 on our menu in Abu Shaghara. For a table of three that works out at a little over AED 13 a head before bread, which makes it one of the better value ways to eat here. Add naan from AED 1.50 and a pulao at AED 10 and the table is done.
If you want it alongside other grilled items rather than on its own, the Mixed BBQ Platter is AED 45, the Shahi BBQ Platter is AED 95 and the Monal BBQ Platter is AED 165. Whole chargha also appears on the dinner buffet and in the catering packages.
Chargha or tandoori chicken
Tandoori chicken is cooked dry in a clay oven and tastes of char and smoke. Chargha is steamed and fried, so it is juicier, more sour, and has crisp skin rather than charred skin. If you want smoke, order from the tandoor. If you want a whole bird to share, order chargha.
Whole chargha, AED 40
Enough for three with bread. Served noon to midnight in Abu Shaghara, Sharjah.
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