I guess this qualifies as curry.  However, many Western eaters confuse a curry dish with the grocery store spice called curry powder.  While a curry dish may include some of the same spices as the grocery store jar, they could not be farther apart.   This is a dish that will convert even your most curry-hating friends to Indian food lovers.  Why?  Because it is not infused with that shaker jar of cloying and stale turmeric. 

There are many versions of this dish.  Some add yogurt.  Many add cashew/onion paste to thicken it.  This is a master recipe to which you can add all kinds of things (such as yogurt, or coconut milk, or chili peppers, or sweet potatoes, or tomatoes, or lentils, or ???).

I took my inspiration from Sonal Ved’s epic book, Tiffin.  I downsized the recipe and made some changes to make getting it on the table more quickly.

You will need a pan/pot with a lid to cook this on your stove top.

Serves 2

Ingredients

• Chicken: 2 thighs and 2 drumsticks
• ¼ C butter
• 3 T avocado oil (or other light oil)
• 6 cloves
• 4 cardamom pods
• 1 cinnamon stick
• ¼ t grated fresh nutmeg
• 4 T chopped garlic
• 2 T chopped fresh ginger
• ½ C sliced yellow onion
• 1 t cayenne powder
• 1 t salt
• ½ t pepper
• 2 t garlic powder
• 2 C chicken broth
• 1 t saffron steeped in ¼ C very hot water (added at the very last)
• Cilantro to garnish

Method

• Salt and pepper your chicken on both sides.  Sprinkle with garlic powder (one or two sides—it does not matter).  Set aside until needed.
• Melt butter and oil ‘til shimmering, then add the cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon.  Heat until you can smell the aroma.
• Add garlic and onions.  Cook until golden.
• Add nutmeg, ginger, and cayenne.
• Make a space and put chicken in the pan.  Cook sizzling about 4-5 minutes per side until browned.
• Add chicken broth.  Cover and cook slowly on stove top until chicken is tender.  Mine took 20 minutes. I turned the chicken over at 10 minutes, but I finished it with the skin side up to encourage more browning. (I think you could put your pot into the oven at 350-375 F to do this same thing.)
• 10 minutes before serving, add the saffron water and heat to infuse the flavor.  Do not boil with the saffron water, as it will degrade the flavor.
• Top with cilantro.

Serve with basmati rice and green vegetables.  We had some fresh beans from the garden that complemented the dish nicely.

Stay briny,

–Stacey