Sindhi chicken

I had read some chicken recipe a while ago in the supplementary pages of a famous Bengali daily. What had caught my attention were the use of shahi jeera (Bunium persicum or also called black cumin) and generous use of green cardamom. The idea of blending the rustic earthy flavors of shahi jeera with the intense aroma and flavors seemed like very interesting idea to me and I had noted in my mind to try those flavors sometime. And the other day I had the chance to experiment with it. I decided to use the shahi jeera both in the marinade and for tempering the oil. To highlight the aroma and intense flavors of green cardamom, the other usual aromatic spices that constitute the garam-masala was omitted. I only added a bit of black cardamom to give this hint of smoky flavor. The whole flavor profile worked wonderfully well. And made Blaž say that I should write down the recipe and not forget like the one I did a few years ago when I was not having a proper record of all the recipes and ideas.

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 4)

600g chicken

1sp garlic paste

1tbsp ginger paste

6-8 green chilies

1 cup yogurt

2 big onions

2 tomatoes

2tbsp tomato puree

1sp shahi jeera (Bunium persicum or also called black cumin)

Oil, salt, sugar

Dry spices:

1 black cardamom

4-5 green cardamom

2-3 dry red chili

For tempering:

1sp shahi jeera (Bunium persicum or also called black cumin)

1 black cardamom

4-5 green cardamom

2 bay leaves

METHOD:
 

1.      Roast the dry spices and crush them roughly.

2.      Marinate the chicken with yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, finely chopped green chilies, shahi jeera, and roasted ground dry spices.

3.      Finely chop the onions. Dice the tomatoes into cubes.

4.      Coarsely grind the cardamoms for tempering the oil. Heat oil in a wok. Temper the oil with shahi jeera, ground cardamom and bay leaves.

5.      Add the onion and fry until golden.

6.      Add the chopped tomato and tomato puree. Cook until the tomatoes are soft and mushy and leaves oil on sides.

7.      Add the chicken with the marinade. Fry on moderate heat until it starts getting golden color.

8.      Add a sprinkle of water. Season well. On low-moderate heat cook until the chicken is done and the spices start leaving the oil on sides.

9.      Serve with steaming rice or hot Indian flatbreads.