Hello, Chicken Lovers 🙂
Chicken has got to be one of the most versatile meats to cook. You can do so much with it and it is far easier to cook than the red meats, in my opinion. Also, this is India. Chicken is the easiest, most accessible non-vegetarian option around.
Growing up, chicken curries were standard. Our house is pretty dedicatedly non vegetarian. My sister especially so. I don’t think I have ever seen her eat a meal without some form of non-vegetarian elements in it 🙂 Our childhood had a couple of chicken recipes, like a standard chicken curry or a yoghurt based chicken curry. On special occasions we got Tandoori chicken!
Over the past few years, when I’ve been cooking for myself, for the husband and for friends (I love my amaze guinea pigs :)), I have tried to experiment with many more variations. Given that I cook chicken at least twice a week, this became essential. There is one thing I do not like at all – eating the same food many times a week. Variety is the spice of life, no? 🙂
Enter : Bhuna Chicken! This is a lot like my standard chicken curry, but is a lot more jammy in the consistency of the masala and is best had with naan/chapatis. You get this lovely explosion of flavour with each bite. Searing the chicken early on helps to get the gorgeous brown colour and also seal in the flavour. So it has the best of both worlds – the warm comforting flavour profile of regular curry plus the newness from this pulpy,jammy,thick masala. YUMSSSS. Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!
Bhuna Chicken
Ingredients
900g chicken : bone-in, cut into pieces
2 medium onions chopped finely
4 tomatoes chopped finely
1 dried bay leaf (tej patta)
2 dried red chillies
1/2 tsp cumin (jeera) seeds
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1/4 tsp turmeric (haldi) powder
3/4 tsp red chilli powder
3 tsp coriander (dhania) powder
2 tsp cumin (jeera) powder
salt to taste
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp oil
fresh coriander for garnish
1tsp lemon juice
Directions
- In a large flat bottomed vessel, heat the oil. Add the bay leaf, dried red chillies and cumin seeds.
- Once the seeds splutter, add the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook till golden brown (about 4-5 minutes) on low-medium heat
- Add the ginger garlic paste and cook for a minute or so till the raw smell goes away
- Add the tomatoes, turmeric, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and a pinch of salt. Mix well
- Pour in the water and cook for about 10 minutes till a jammy inconsistency is achieved
- Place the chicken pieces in the pan, ensuring they don’t crowd one another. Sear them on high heat for 5-7 minutes till brown on both sides.
- Lower the heat, cover and cook till done (about 30-40 mins)
- Check for salt, add lemon juice and garnish with fresh coriander.
My Tuck Box 
Yummy!
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