Letting the chicken pieces sit for half an hour in a gingery marinade makes all the difference to this curry. Skinning the chicken not only does away with most of the bird's fat, it also lets the spicy flavours really permeate the flesh. Potatoes make a great addition, adding bulk to the curry.
Recipe provided by:
Reader's Digest
|
Perfect Poultry
|
1 chicken, about 1.35 kg (3 lb), jointed into 8 pieces
|
|
1/2 tsp turmeric
|
|
4 cm (1 1/2 in) piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
|
|
juice of 1/2 lemon
|
|
2 tbsp sunflower oil
|
|
1 dried red chilli, broken into 2–3 pieces
|
|
1 tsp brown or black mustard seeds
|
|
½ tsp fennel seeds
|
|
¼ tsp cumin seeds
|
|
¼ tsp ground cumin
|
|
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
|
|
1 tbsp chickpea flour (gram flour)
|
|
3 garlic cloves, roughly crushed
|
|
½ green pepper, thinly sliced
|
|
1 large onion, sliced
|
|
1 can chopped tomatoes, about 400 g
|
|
250 g (9 oz) potatoes, peeled
|
|
¼ green cabbage, about 140 g (5 oz), thinly sliced
|
|
140 g (5 oz) frozen peas, thawed with boiling water and drained
|
|
salt and pepper
|
Preparation method
|
1.
|
|
Remove the skin from the chicken joints. Cut 3–4 slashes in the flesh of each joint, right to the bone. Rub the turmeric, ginger, lemon juice and a little salt all over the chicken joints, then leave to marinate for about 30 minutes.
|
|
2.
|
|
Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan. Add the dried chilli, mustard seeds, fennel seeds and cumin seeds, and let them sputter and pop for a few minutes. Stir in the ground cumin, cinnamon and chickpea flour. Watch carefully to be sure you do not burn the spices, as this can happen very quickly.
|
|
3.
|
|
Add the garlic, green pepper and onion to the spice mixture and cook for a few minutes, stirring. Add the chicken and tomatoes and stir to mix. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
|
|
4.
|
|
Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in boiling water for 5 minutes; drain and cut into bite-sized pieces. Blanch the cabbage in a separate pan of boiling water for 1 minute, then drain.
|
|
5.
|
|
Add the potatoes and cabbage to the curried chicken and stir in. Cover the pan again and continue to simmer over a moderately low heat for 20–25 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked and tender. Add the peas and warm through for a few minutes. Serve hot, with Indian breads and pickles.
|
Copyright
Copyright by The Readers Digest Association, Inc. 2004
Some more ideas
Make this the day before you want to eat it – the curry is even better when the flavours have had longer to soak into the potatoes. * For a hotter, more garlicky curry, use 2 dried red chillies and up to 8 garlic cloves. Eating a lot of garlic may help to lower blood pressure. * For a chicken and broccoli curry with yogurt, omit the potatoes, cabbage and peas, and instead use 2 medium-sized bunches of broccoli, about 450 g (1 lb) in total. Separate the heads into florets; peel the stalks and cut into bite-sized chunks. Blanch both florets and stalk chunks in boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain and refresh in cold water. Add the broccoli during the last 5–10 minutes of cooking the chicken. Just before serving, stir 3 tbsp plain low-fat yogurt into the sauce. Serve this curry with rice. Broccoli contains phytochemicals and antioxidants that offer protection against cancer and other diseases.
Plus points
Traditional favourite vegetables, such as the humble potato, are a useful source of vitamin C. At one time they were very important in preventing scurvy in Britain during the winter months. Eaten frequently, potatoes can still contribute significant vitamin C to the diet, with antioxidant properties that play an important role in the prevention of cancer and heart disease. * The vitamin C provided by the peas, tomatoes and potatoes will increase the absorption of iron from the chicken. * All the water-soluble vitamins from the vegetables – vitamin C from the peas, tomatoes and potatoes, and B vitamins from the peas – are retained in the sauce of this curry.
Each serving provides
B6, C, niacin * B1, E, folate, copper, iron, potassium * A, calcium, selenium, zinc