Chicken curry or chicken masala is one of the most famous curry
dishes in India. This is perfect for those meat lovers who do not wish t
eat beef or lamb because of their current health condition. It would
only take you as much as 30 minutes to prepare this non-vegetarian meal.
So here is the recipe for chicken masala which is also sometimes called
as the butter chicken curry.
The ingredients that you need are the following:
2 tablespoons of cashew nuts
2 tablespoons of poppy seeds
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of fenugreek or methi seeds
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of ginger, chopped
4 tablespoons of oil
1 cinnamon stick (at least 25 millimeters)
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons of red chili powder
3 tomatoes, pureed
1 teaspoon of garam masala powder (hot spice mix)
800 grams or at least 12 pieces of medium sized chicken meat
6 tablespoons of yogurt, beaten until thick
Coriander, finely chopped
Salt
Here’s how to do chicken masala:
Roast the poppy seeds for a couple of minutes.
Soak the roasted poppy seeds in warm water and put the cashew as
well.
Leave it for at least 1 hour.
Grind the poppy seeds and the cashew. Put small amount of water
so it would result into paste.
Roast the fenugreek seeds as well as the cumin seeds lightly.
Grind the two seeds to create fine powders.
Grind the ginger, onion, and the garlic to make a paste.
In a deep pan, heat the oil and fry the bay leaves and the
cinnamon stick. Wait until you can smell the aroma of the
ingredients.
Put the onion paste. Fry it for at least 3 minutes or wait until
it becomes golden brown.
Add the powder made of fenugreek and cumin, the red chili
powder, pureed tomatoes, the garam masala, and salt to taste. Cover
the pan and cook it over a low heat. Leave it for at least 10
minutes.
Put the fire in medium heat. Add the chicken meat and fry it for
at least 10 minutes. In this way, you are letting the rich flavors
seep into the chicken.
Once the chicken is cooked, reduce the heat. Put the paste made
from cashew nut and poppy seeds. Stir it very well. Fry if for at
least 2 minutes.
Put the oven on low fire. Add the yogurt and stir continuously
to avoid lumps.
Let it simmer for at least 5 minutes and stir. Wait until the
chicken is already tender.
Wait until the gravy is already thick and the oil has already
separated.
Serve while hot and then garnish it with the coriander leaves.
If you want to get more flavour in your chicken masala dish, you can
also use clarified butter or ghee instead. Using boneless chicken is
also an option in this curry dish. This is best if you want to get only
the meat from the chicken. Aside from that, it would also lessen the
cooking time of your chicken masala curry. If you want more gravy or
sauce, always keep a hot water ready and mix it thoroughly with your
chicken masala’s current gravy.
The chicken masala can also be served with appam, roti, or rice.
