Kasoori Chicken Curry

My life these days can be summed up in two words. Sleep. Dream.

In between that sleeping and dreaming, I also buy vegetables. Lots of vegetables. And fruits. Which means P’s gastronomical needs are being ignored. His cliché of “I feel weak if I don’t eat meat”, doesn’t crack me up anymore. Instead, I take him seriously. Very seriously.

After all, I do not know of many husbands who run 10 klicks, five times a week to get back in shape for his upcoming soccer season.

This Kasoori Chicken Curry is another of my impromptu recipes, given the fact that I did have a Cornish hen in the freezer. The other ingredients just played ball.

Unlike my other posts, this recipe does not have step-by-step detailing, because honestly I wasn’t too sure of the outcome and the camera did not seem too appealing to handle when I was in the midst of an impending nausea.

Ingredients for Kasoori Chicken Curry are:

1 Cornish hen, about 400-500 grams
1 medium red onion finely slivered
2 ripe medium size tomatoes
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon garlic paste
1 tablespoon green chili paste
Quarter cup Balkan-style / plain yogurt
Quarter teaspoon black cumin seeds/ shahi jeera
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
3 heaped teaspoons of Kasoori Methi (I use the MDH brand)
Pinch of mace
2 bay leaves
1+1 tablespoon Canola oil
Salt

I began by cutting curry pieces of the Cornish hen. You can also use regular chicken pieces for this recipe.
 
Marinade the chicken pieces in yogurt, ginger-garlic-chili paste, black cumin seeds, no more than a pinch of mace, turmeric, red chili, coriander, and garam masala powders. Add to the marinade one tablespoon oil. The chicken is good to be cooked after about 30 minutes of marinating.

Heat one tablespoon oil in a pan. Add a couple of bay leaves and add the onions. Fry the slivered onions till they are light brown in color. Turn the heat to the lowest point. This is important as yogurt has high chancing of curdling on high heat.

Now add the marinating chicken. Cover and cook on medium-high heat till all the natural juices are coming out of the chicken.

Add salt to taste and crush the kasoori methi (dry fenugreek) leaves on the chicken. Mix well.
To crank up the tang in the chicken, I added one plump, ripe tomato, roughly chopped. Cook the tomato with the chicken till its done.

Finish off the dish with slices of tomato and few hot peppers, slit lengthwise. 
The Kasoori Chicken Curry is best served with hot rotis/chapatis and a bowlful of salad.