Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4-5
Ingredients
- Onion – 2 (finely chopped)
- Tomato – 2 (diced or pureed)
- Oil – 3 tbsp
- Bay Leaf – 1
- Curry Leaves – 1 sprig
- Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp
- Coriander leaves (Cilantro) – handful (finely chopped)
- Salt – to taste
To marinate
- Chicken – 1 kg (2 lbs)
- Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
- Lemon juice – 2 tsp
- Salt – 1 tsp
To crush
- Ginger – 1" piece
- Garlic – 8 cloves
- Shallots – 7
- Green Chillies – 3
To roast and powder
- Grated Coconut – 1/4 cup
- Dry red chillies – 10
- Coriander Seeds – 2 tbsp
- Black Peppercorns – 2 tsp
- Fennel Seeds – 2 tsp
- Poppy Seeds – 1 tsp
- Curry Leaves – 2 sprigs
- Cardamom – 10
- Cinnamon – 1” piece
- Cloves – 5
- Mace – 1 piece
- Star anise – 1 piece
- Black Stone Flower (Kalpasi) – 1
- Kapok Buds (Marathi Moggu) – 1
Method
- Cut the chicken and cut it into medium size pieces. Marinate it with salt, lemon juice and turmeric powder for at least half an hour.
- Dry roast the ingredients under To Roast and Powder on low flame till everything turns golden brown in colour. After it cools make a powder of it and keep aside. Be careful not to burn it.
- Make a paste of the ingredients under To Crush. Keep this aside.
- Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan and add the cumin seeds and bay leaf.
- Add the chopped onions and fry till it becomes brown in colour.
- Add the ground paste of shallots, ginger, garlic and green chilies and fry till the raw smell is gone.
- Add the marinated chicken and fry for few minutes. The chicken releases lot of water.
- Now add the tomato puree and the freshly powdered spices, required salt and water.
- Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes. By now the chicken pieces will be completely cooked.
- This is the right time to check for salt and other spices. Adjust anything if needed.
- Cook uncovered till the oil floats on top of the gravy.
- Add the finely chopped cilantro and fresh curry leaves and switch off. Keep the gravy covered till you are ready to serve.