Cardamom and Black Pepper chicken

We went wandering over to Border's on Saturday to use up a gift card I had received for my birthday last year, it was almost a year old, I'm a little slow. After picking up my CD selections, I headed straight for the cook books. Husband started handing me titles and they were all Indian. I laughed and asked him if he was trying to hint that it was time to make him Indian again. He nodded and smirked. This recipe is from a book I bought a few months ago called 'from curries to kebabs recipes form the Indian spice trail' by Madhur Jaffrey the Queen Goddess of Indian cooking. This is very quick and easy to make, compared to many other dishes, and the ingredients are pretty mainstream as well. I served this on plain basmati rice with a shredded mango pickle, fried papadums, an apple raita and Black mustard seed and garlic green beans. The chicken needs to marinate for at least 3 hours, so plan ahead.

Cardamom and Black Pepper Chicken

Marinade
6 TBS finely chopped onion
2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into chunks (I used boobs and thighs)

Place all ingredients (except the chicken) into a bender along with 3 TBS of water. Blend to a paste, pushing down with a spatula when needed.

place chicken pieces in a bowl and pour on marinade. Stir and cover. Place in fridge for at least 3 hours.

To Cook the chicken
3 TBS peanut, vegetable or canola oil
1 medium stick of cinnamon
8 whole cardamom pods
1 cup of onion sliced into fine half rings
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
4 TBS plain yoghurt (use Total Greek yoghurt or Sheep's milk yoghurt if you can find it)
5 TBS grated tomato (I use a good quality chopped tomato in a tin)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garam masala
2 to 3 tsp lemon juice

One of my favourite cooking toys is this stainless steel masala box we bought in an Indian store in Manchester England. Each spice in a little cup, covered with a clear plexi cover and then the whole box has another see through top. The smell when you open it is incredible and it allows me to have my most used spices at hand.

Pour the oil into a wide, non-stick pan set over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the cardamom pods and cinnamon stick. Stir for 10 seconds. Put in the onion and stir and fry for 6 -7 minutes or until the onion starts looks reddish-brown. Add the cumin and coriander. Stir. Add the yoghurt, 1 TBS at a time and stir until it is absorbed. Keep adding the remaining yogurt the same way. Add the tomato and stir for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium, add the chicken, together with its marinade, and cook stirring, for 3 -4 minutes, or until all of the chicken pieces turn white. Add 3/4 cup of water, the salt and garam masala. Stir and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook uncovered for 2 -3 minutes stirring occasionally.

Indian cooking has a bit of sweet, some sour, crunch and soft in each meal. For this meal the papadums added the crunch.
I buy pre-packaged papadums and to prepare them, simply put about 1/4 inch of oil in a pan and heat on medium-high. Drop in papadum, it will curl up quickly and then flatten.

Once it flattens, flip it immediately and cook for a few more seconds. This is very quick! Place them in a bowl lined with a tea towel or paper towels.

Comments

[S. Prakash]

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