Homestyle Chicken Masala Curry

I made this chicken curry on New years day, so I thought its only apt that this be my first post! I have always loved to cook, watch, listen, talk and dream of food-particularly curry. There is something to be said about a warm flavourful curry with aromatic rice at the end of a tiring day-or any day actually, in my case.

There are a million different ways of making a chicken curry, everybody has their own version or versions. This is a curry I make when I have roughly 20 minutes on hand and a load of other stuff to do while this is cooking. I prep the ingredients as I go which means the prep time is very less and while this is on the stove I get the rice or any other accompaniment ready. This masala curry particularly pairs well with Roti/Naan. If the Roti/Naan has a generous slathering of Butter or Ghee(clarified butter) all the better.

You will need:

1. Chicken- 1 Kg, cleaned and cut (preferably with bone)
2. Onions- 2 medium sized onions, thinly sliced
3. Garlic- 8-10 cloves, without skin
4. Ginger- 1-1/2 inches, peeled
5. Tomato puree- 1 large tomato pureed in a blender
6. Green chillies- 2 nos, slit in between
7. Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
8. Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
9. Red chilli powder- 1 1/2 tsp
10. Coriander powder- 1 1/2 tsp
11. Oil for cooking- 1 cup (any oil will do)
12. Garam Masala- 1 tsp
13. Fresh Coriander leaves- a good handful, chopped thinly
14. Salt- 1 1/2 tsp  or as per taste

Preparation:

1. Add the oil to a wide and deep bottomed pan and place on medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute till it turns golden brown. Add 2 cups of water to the onions and close the lid of the pan. We are looking for the onions to turn soft and the water to reduce to a jam-like consistency . This will take about 5-7 minutes.
2. While the onions are cooking, in a grinder add the ginger and garlic with some water and grind to a thin liquid.
3. Add the chicken to the pan once the onions are done and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the ginger-garlic water, cumin seeds, turmeric, red chilli and coriander powder to the chicken and give it a good mix. Add salt at this point.
4. Cook the chicken with a lid on for 10-12 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and you see some oil at the edges of the pan. Add the tomato paste, green chillies and come freshly chopped coriander and give it a good stir. Close the lid again and cook covered for 2-3 minutes.
5. The chicken should be well cooked at this point and the gravy would be almost sauce-like. Add the remaining fresh coriander leaves and sprinkle some garam masala powder. Done!

I have made this curry a hundred times and I love it each time. You can use chopped tomatoes instead of the puree and use sliced ginger-garlic instead of the ‘ginger-garlic water’ but you will miss out on the sauce-y consistency of the dish. The onions are so soft and jam-y you can’t even feel it. You will however taste the caramelized onion base that adds so much flavour to the dish. The garam masala powder and the freshly cut coriander leaves gives the dish a lot of freshness and flavour that I wouldn’t think of missing it.

I hope you give this curry a try and enjoy it!