I made this recipe last night. Its the fifth in my Dhruv Baker Cook-athon. Its funny but cooking five dishes in a row from one book is a bit like listening to a whole album rather than just being on shuffle the whole time, you start to get a sense of what the artiste has got to 'say'.
I really liked this recipe, and I think I can start to see how Dhruv's use of spices is intended to add depth of flavour to his dishes. He tends to layer them through the process which in this case gives flavour rather than just heat to this very simple curry (this also made the dish appropriate for my dear wife's continuing convalescence too)
We had it with kachumber salad and Nushi's fabulous dahl.
Serves 4
ingredients
2 tbsp vegetable oil
6 cloves
4 green Cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
2 onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
4cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and very finely grated
1 tsp turmeric
4 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
75ml water
250g fresh tomatoes, whizzed in a blender
1 whole chicken, jointed into 8 pieces or chicken thighs
250 ml chicken stock
4 tbsp roughly chopped fresh coriander
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
method
Heat the oil in a large, lidded pan and, when hot, add the cloves, cardamom pods and cinnamon stick. Fry for about 3-4 minutes over a medium heat.
Add the onions and fry for 10-15 minutes, until golden. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for a further 2 minutes, now add the rest of the spices and cook for further minute or two.
Now pour in the water and cook for another 5 minutes stirring constantly.
Add the blended tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes before adding the chicken pieces. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, then add the stock and cook, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, increase the heat and cook for a further 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has stared to thicken up.
Season to taste and sprinkle over the chopped coriander. Serve with steamed rice, naan bread and Cucumber Raita.
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