Dec 02, 2011 12:01 PM
Ingredients:
1 kg boneless chicken skin removed
Lime juice – of 1 lemon
Salt to taste
1 tsp red chilli powder (adjust to suit your taste)
Cloves – 6
Peppercorns – 8 to 10
Cinnamon – 1 inch stick
2 bay leaves
8-10 almonds
Seeds from 3-4 pods of cardamom
1 cup fresh yoghurt (must not be sour)
Vegetable/canola/sunflower cooking oil – 3 tablespoons
Onions – 2, chopped
Garlic paste – 2 teaspoons
Ginger paste – 1 teaspoon
Coriander powder – 2 teaspoons
Cumin powder – 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoon
Tomato sauce – 1 can, about 400g or 14 oz
Chicken stock – ½ liters
Kasuri methi – 2 tablespoons that is, dried fenugreek leaves
Soft butter – 3 tablespoons, unmelted
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves to garnish
Preparation:
• To Marinate: Place chicken in a nonporous glass dish or bowl with lemon juice, 1 tablespoon chili powder and salt. Toss to coat; cover dish and refrigerate to marinate for 1 hour.
• Heat a flat pan or griddle on medium heat and gently roast (stirring frequently) the cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, bay leaves and almonds till they darken slightly. Cool and add the cardamom seeds. Now grind into a coarse powder in a clean, dry coffee grinder.
• Next, select another small bowl, and mix yoghurt in it along with the whole spice powder prepared in the step above. Also add coriander, cumin and turmeric powder together and combine them all together with the chicken. Allow to marinate for another hour.
• Now, select a deep pan and heat oil in it over a medium heat. When it becomes hot, add onions to it. Fry the onions in the oil until they become pale, golden brown in color and then add the ginger and garlic pastes to it. Fry them for at least 1 minute.
• Add only the chicken from the chicken-spice mix and fry till sealed (chicken will turn opaque and the flesh will go from pink to whitish in color).
• To Make Sauce: Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garam masala. When masala begins to crackle, mix in ginger paste, chopped garlic and green chile peppers. Saute until tender, then stir in tomato puree, chili powder, salt and water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring in honey and fenugreek.
• Place chicken in sauce mixture. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink inside. Stir in fresh cream.
