Indian Chicken with Fenugreek
A delicious, if not an everyday recipe for the simple reason that making a proper “curry” needs time. If you don’t cook out the masala, the flavour won’t be right. A lot of Indian spices “bloom” in hot oil hence it’s important to add them at the right time. The recipe needs a lot of onions, so it’s a good time to take out your food processor to chop them, tearlessly. And while you have the processor on hand, make a simple dough for roti or parantha to accompany the chicken. Your family will be grateful.
Servings Prep Time
6 20minutes
Cook Time
45minutes
Servings Prep Time
6 20minutes
Cook Time
45minutes
Ingredients
Marinade
Whole garam masala
Other ingredients:
Instructions
  1. A few hours before cooking, marinate the chicken. Whisk yoghurt in a large bowl, add salt & turmeric. Add the chicken and stir until all the pieces are well coated. Leave the chicken in his marinade for at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours.
  2. When ready to cook, heat the oil & ghee in a large wok or deep saucepan. Add the whole garam masala ingredients and stir over medium heat until you can smell the masala and it begins to crackle.
  3. And onions together with a little salt, and sauté until golden brown. Then add the grated garlic, ginger and green chilies and stir for 2 minutes. Mix the dry masalas – turmeric, coriander powder and chilli powder and stir into about ¼ cup water and add to the onion mix and fry for a minute.
  4. Add the sliced red pepper if using, and fry for a 2 minutes.
  5. Next, add the tomatoes and fry on medium heat (patiently!) until the tomatoes are reduced and appear shiny. The term often used is “fat leaves the masala”. This is a key part of any curry making. If you don’t fry the masala properly until this stage, the finished dish will lack in depth and flavour. As I have cut the amount of fat, the fat “leaving” the masala will be less visible, but still evident. You will find that the paste is more cohesive and doesn’t stick to the wok.
  6. Add the chicken with the marinade and fry for 5 minutes on high heat. Add about ¼ cup of water and cover and simmer until the chicken is almost fully cooked. Take off the lid and if the sauce is too thin, cook off the extra water on a high heat. At this point the masala should look shiny again (fat leaving the masala). Add the dried fenugreek leaves, and cook covered for a further 5 minutes.
  7. Taste and adjust seasoning. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves before serving. Eat hot with rotis, paranthas or rice.

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