This has got to be the simplest chicken curry in the history
of chicken curries. It is so simple that I think the chicken can make it
himself! Jokes apart, this dish emerged from my dabbling with the minimalist
approach in various things in life (not including clothing!). I was thinking of
ways of making a chicken dish that would cook fast and could be made with the
bare minimum of ingredients. The whole point of this dish is to do as little as
possible, and yet, unless you’re a complete nut, you will have a great tasting
dish, that goes well with both rice and roti.
INGREDIENTS
- Boneless Chicken – approximately 600 grams, chopped into bite sized pieces
- Plain yoghurt (the non-sweetened variety) – 1 and ½ cups
- Red Chilli Powder – 1 level teaspoon
- Flour – 1 level teaspoon
- Whole Black Pepper – 1 teaspoon
- Salt – 2 level teaspoons, or to taste
- Ghee – 3 heaped tablespoons, or 4 tablespoons of any white oil
PROCESS
- Blend together the yoghurt, chilli powder, salt and flour into a smooth paste, making sure there are no lumps.
- Mix the chicken into the yoghurt mixture, cover and leave overnight in the refrigerator (not the freezer!)
- Next morning, in a heavy bottomed pan, heat ghee, add the whole black pepper, wait for 10 seconds and add chicken and marinade.
- Stir for half a minute or so, reduce flame to low, and cover, stirring occasionally.
- The chicken will release a lot of water and will cook slowly.
- Once the water has reduced, and the chicken is cooked (taste a piece at this point), if you desire more gravy, add half a cup of warm water, if you want it drier, increase the flame, bring gravy to desired consistency, and serve.
Wasn’t that simplicity itself?
Cooking time approximately 60 minutes
Serves 3 – 4
NOTES
- The whole point of this dish is to use as little as possible, however if you so wish, you may add whole garam masala to the ghee before adding chicken, just remember to crush the masala, or it will explode, and be careful not to burn the masala. No one likes burnt cardamom.
- Further improvisations and additions to this dish will turn it into my version of chicken rezala, which we shall discuss on another page.
- The flour is not added for taste, but rather for consistency. Yoghurt, when cooked, has a tendency to curdle, and a gravy with water and milk solids totally separated, does not look or taste particularly nice. Be sure not to overdo the flour though, unless you want a curry where the gravy looks and feels like industrial glue.
- Once again, the potency of red chilli powder varies widely. If you have the super-hot variety, use less. If however, you have Kashmiri red chilli powder, use more. As always, play around a few times, and you will get it right.
- The drier you make the gravy, and this holds true for almost any dish, the saltier it gets, so do be careful.
