Rich and slow cooked chicken curry

This chicken curry is a little on the fussy side for a weeknight dinner, but yet all it took to produce a nice intense flavor is a little extra cooking time, some additional stirring and just a little more oil. Sometimes, I realize that time and a little extra patience is what makes good food memorable.

I did not make any luchis (puffed Indian bread), but this is what I would have liked with this curry, but did make some light lemon basmati rice. We had our friend Anju over and we enjoyed this with the rice and simple lentil creation that I shall share later. We were up late, drinking good wine, talking about good times. I did pay for this later through mugs of bad coffee at work, but sometimes we all need a break from the mundane.

Rich and Slow Cooked Chicken Curry

Prep Time: 7 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Serves: 4-6 people

Ingredients

2-3 cloves garlic

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled

1 medium onion, peeled and coarsely chopped

2-3 green serrano chillies

2 tomatoes

1 bunch (about 1 cup) cilantro leaves and tender stems

2-3 cardamoms

3-4 cloves

1 large piece cinnamon

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 dried red chili

4-5 tablespoons oil

1 cup chicken stock

2 lbs skinned chicken (I would recommend dark meat on the bone)

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon garam masala powder

Extra cilantro for garnishing

Method of Preparation

1. Grind the garlic, ginger, onion, green chillies, tomato and cilantro into a relative smooth puree.

2. Dry grind the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, cumin and red chili and set aside.

3. Heat the oil and add spice mixture and cook lightly. Add in the tomato puree and cook for a good 15 minutes, stirring as needed until the mixture is fairly dry and begining to get fried.

4. Add the stock if needed to let the mixture get well browned but not burnt.

5. Add in the chicken and salt and continue cooking on medium heat for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The chicken should be brown and well coated with the spice mixture.

6. Stir in the remaining stock and simmer the chicken for about 10 minutes. The chicken should be nice and soft and there should be a good thick sauce.

7. Garnish with the cilantro and garam masala and serve.

Lemon Rice

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 teaspoon oil or ghee

2-3 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup basmati rice

1 teaspoon salt

1 lime

Method of Preparation

1. Heat the oil or ghee and add in the bay leaves and turmeric and cook for a few seconds.

2. Quickly add in the garlic and cook till the garlic is fragrant.

3. Add in the rice and the salt with 1 and 3/4 cups of water and bring the water to a simmer.

4. Squeeze in the lime juice. Cover and cook for 18 minutes at this point the rice should be a pale yellow mixture and the water should be absorbed.

5. Turn off the heat and leave the rice undistured for at least 5 minutes.

6. Remove the cover, fluff and serve.