500gm boneless chicken breast, cut into cubes

1/4 tsp. salt

1tsp. ginger paste & garlic paste

1/4 tsp. turmeric powder

1/2 tsp. chilli powder

1 tsp. pickle oil/achaar oil (if you have a jar of mango pickle at home use the oil from it)

Gravy ingredients
2 onions, chopped

4 tbsp. oil

1 tbsp. tomato paste/puree

4 fresh tomatoes finely chopped

1 tsp. freshly grated ginger

1/2 tsp. garlic paste

2 tbsp. fresh yoghurt

1 tsp. salt (or to taste)

1/2 tsp. red chilli powder

1/4 tsp. turmeric powder

1tbs curry powder

3 green chillies, slit

1 tsp. whole cumin seeds

1 tsp. coriander seeds

1/2 tsp. fennel seeds

juice of 1/2 a lemon/lime

1 heaped tbsp. pickle/achaar blitz into paste

Marinate the chicken cubes in the chicken marinade ingredients for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

Mix the cumin, coriander, fennel and split fenugreek seeds, roast them in a dry pan for a minute or two until they are aromatic, then crush them to a rough powder.

Drizzle some of the oil in a pan, when hot fry the chicken pieces in batches over high heat just to seal the chicken and keep it moist.

Do not be tempted to over crowd the pan as that will drop the temperature of the oil and the chicken will release a lot of moisture.

Keep the heat high and stir fry the chicken in two batches for about 3 minutes per batch, then remove the cubes into a bowl.

Cover and set aside. Bear in mind that the chicken will be cooked further in the gravy.

In the same pan, add some oil,chopped onions. Fry on medium heat until the onions are golden. Then add the ginger and garlic pastes. Stir them in for a few seconds, then add the tomatoes and tomato paste, crushed roasted spices, salt, curry powder and red chilli powder.

Cook until the tomatoes are thick and oil begins to get released from the sides. Then whip the yoghurt and add it in, give it a mix to combine cook on medium heat 5 mins.

Add the chicken pieces and the slit green chillies, give them a stir then add half a cup to one cup of boiled water. Cover and turn down the heat.

Simmer for about 15 minutes on low heat or until the chicken pieces are tender and cooked. Squeeze in the lemon juice and add in the tablespoon of achaar paste.

This will enhance the flavour of the chicken even further.

Turn off the heat and allow the dish to sit for about 5 minutes before serving to ensure all the flavours are infused into the chicken.

Serve with rice or parathas/tawa roti

Bon appetite enjoy 😊
by
Parmjit Sohall
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