Mummy Ji's Chicken Curry
by Sherman Antao · View original source
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In my opinion this is the ultimate chicken curry. It is based on the one that I grew up eating and it is like no chicken curry that you will have tried! Call me biased, but I believe my mum's chicken curry to be by far the best. Not every curry sauce has to be rich and thick and this recipe proves it. The success of the dish lies in cooking the chicken on the bone, which not only keeps the meat moist, but also adds a depth of broth-like flavour to the sauce. The sauce itself is a relatively thin gravy which has different layers of flavour, created using a variety of spices at different stages of the cooking process.
- Category:
- Main Course
- Cuisine:
- Indian
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg chicken on the bone (portioned into pieces (3 lb. 5 oz.))
- rice (boiled, to serve)
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil (for the marinade)
- 1/2 lemon juice (freshly squeezed, from 1/2 lemon, for the marinade)
- 2 tablespoon yogurt (natural/plain, for the marinade)
- 3 teaspoon Holy Trinity Paste (for the marinade, see page 12)
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder (for the marinade)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon turmeric (ground, for the marinade)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin (ground, for the marinade)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon coriander (ground, for the marinade)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt (for the marinade)
- 1 teaspoon garam masala (for the marinade)
- 5 tablespoon vegetable oil (for the curry sauce)
- 5 cm cinnamon stick (2-inch stick)
- 5 cloves
- 2 star anise
- 3 bay leaves (fresh)
- 2.5 cm ginger (1-inch squared piece, fresh root, thinly sliced)
- 3 clove garlic (roughly chopped)
- 2 1/2 onions (large, finely chopped)
- 1 teaspoon salt (for the curry sauce)
- 1 Can Diced tomatoes (large, chopped, core and seeds removed)
- 1 teaspoon garam masala (for the curry sauce)
- 2 tablespoon coriander/cilantro (freshly chopped, leaves from a small bunch)
- 500 ml water (2 cups)
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade and mix together. Stir in the chicken and allow to marinate overnight in the refrigerator or for a minimum of 30 minutes at room temperature.
- To make the curry sauce, heat the vegetable oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat, add the cinnamon stick, cloves and star anise and fry for 1 minute to allow the aromatic oils of the spices to be released into the oil.
- Add the bay leaves, ginger and garlic and move around in the pan for 1 minute until the garlic and ginger are golden-brown.
- Add the onions and salt and fry until completely softened and golden-brown; about 25-30 minutes. (Using a lid will help to cook the onions quicker.)
- Add the tomatoes and cook until they have softened and melted and the ingredients are coming together to form a sauce base.
- Next, add the marinated chicken pieces, mixing really well in the pan and sealing them all over.
- Once sealed, pour in 500 ml/2 cups of water, mix well, place the lid back on and let the curry simmer for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked and the liquid has reduced to give a sauce-like consistency.
- Add the garam masala and chopped coriander/cilantro and serve with rice.
Notes
From "Recipes From My Indian Kitchen" by Nitisha Patel, All About Curry, p. 47.