Persian Chicken Curry

Persian Chicken Curry

Recipe only

This Persian chicken curry recipe was given to me by a chef from the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia. Its history is huge, This dish dates back to the traders arriving from the Arabian peninsula. It uses the pungency of paprika, coriander and turmeric in the chicken marinade to complement the green chili and fenugreek in the curry sauce.

INGREDIENTS

8 cm piece fresh peeled ginger, grated

6 garlic cloves, crushed

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1/2 cup (125 ml) lemon juice

1/3 cup (80 ml) vegetable oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

3 teaspoons garam masala

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon chili flakes

1/4 cup natural plain yogurt

1 kg chicken thigh fillets, cut into 4 cm pieces

3 large brown onions, chopped coarsely

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground fenugreek

2- 400 g good quality cans crushed tomatoes

1 cinnamon stick

2 long green chilies, chopped finely

300 ml fresh single cream

1 tablespoon honey

1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh coriander leaves

METHOD

1. Combine half the ginger, half the garlic, half the turmeric, half the juice and half the oil in a large bowl with all the cumin, garam masala, ground coriander, paprika, chili flakes and yogurt, add the chicken; turn to mix and coat well in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.

2. Preheat an oven to very hot.

3. Cook the chicken, in lightly oiled medium shallow ovenproof dish, uncovered for about 10 minutes.

4. Heat remaining oil in a large saucepan; cook onions, chili powder, fenugreek, remaining ginger, garlic and turmeric, stirring until onion softens. Add undrained tomatoes, cinnamon, green chili and remaining juice. Simmer, covered for 10 minutes. Stir in the cream and honey, simmer, uncovered for 2 minutes.

5. Add the chicken to the curry sauce, simmer for about 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from the heat, stir in the fresh coriander and serve with bread, rice or a salad.