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Chicken dopiaza

Ingredients

  • 4 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
  • 3 green cardamom pods
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 3 tsp coriander powder
  • 1.5 tsp cumin powder
  • 1.5 tsp garam masala
  • 1.5 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 4 red onions
  • 6 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1" piece of root ginger, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2lbs chicken breasts or thighs (or a combo) diced into bite sized pieces
  • 400ml chicken stock
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • Cilantro, chopped
  • Salt, to taste

Method

A bit of mise-en-place helps:

  • put the cardamom pods, cinnamon, bay leaves and cumin seeds together in a small bowl, ready to go
  • similarly put the coriander, cumin, garam masala, chilli and turmeric powders together in a small bowl
  • Halve the onions and thinly Slice 3 1/2 of them, reserving the remaining half for later
  • you can prep the garlic and ginger as well as dice the chicken while the onions are cooking

Heat the ghee (or oil) over medium heat then dump in everything in your first bowl of spices. After 30-90s (depends how hot your oil is) the cinnamon stick should unfurl a little and everything should be fragrant. Add the sliced onions, sprinkle with salt, stir and let cook over medium. You will need to stir them periodically. Don’t cook too hot, you want them to cook down and be soft and lightly caramelized. This does take some time, while you’re waiting prep your garlic, ginger and chicken.

Once the onions are ready, add the ginger and garlic, stir in and give about a minute or two of cooking. Then add second bowl of spices, adding a little water if it seems dry. Stir again, give it a minute and then add the tomato paste and combine well.

Now add your chicken and sear it as best you can amongst all the onions. You may need to bump the heat a bit but watch out for scorching the onions. Once that’s done, add the chicken stock, lemon and cilantro. Stir it all together, bring up to a gentle boil, cover with a lid, reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.