Chicken Curry

Ratna’s Chicken Curry

(serves 8-10 people with Rice or Indian bread and other side dishes)

  • 3 Tbsp. oil
  • 2 large onions, chopped
  • 12 pieces chicken, skinned, bone in (thighs, drumsticks, breast cut into 4 pcs; dark meat tastes good in Indian chicken recipes)
  • 6 cloves garlic, peeled, minced
  • 2 inches ginger, washed, grated (or replace fresh garlic and ginger with 3 Tbsp. garlic-ginger paste)
  • 3 Tbsp. ground coriander
  • 3 Tbsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (or to taste)
  • 2 15-oz cans diced tomatoes
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • 2 tsp. garam masala
  • 2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro leaves
  1. Put the coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric and cayenne pepper in a small bowl, add ½ cup warm water and mix to made a thick paste. Set aside.
  2. Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot on med-hi (ideally, pot should be large enough that chicken can be cooked in almost one layer, with not too much crowding). When very hot (almost smoking), put in the onions and sauté 4-5 minutes until onions are golden brown, with a few spots of dark brown.
  3. Put in the chicken pieces. Keeping heat fairly high, brown the chicken all over (about 5-7 mins. of stir frying).
  4. Put in the garlic-ginger and stir fry for a couple of minutes.
  5. Add the spice paste and stir carefully to coat all the chicken pieces (turn down the heat a bit if you find the stuff in the pot sticking to the bottom – but, not too low, you want the chicken and spices to be frying along at a brisk pace). Stir fry for 5 mins.
  6. Add the diced tomatoes and the salt and bring it all to a boil. Keeping the heat at medium, and stirring gently when necessary (careful not to be hacking at the chicken pieces), ‘brown’ the contents of the pot. This will take at least 15 mins as the diced tomatoes disintegrate, the sauce thickens, turns darker in color and starts to glisten as the oil ‘separates’. Longer the better, for this browning step (this is the secret behind great Indian curry – slow and long browning; the spices give up their moisture and roast in this step).
  7. Add 2-3 cups hot water (depending on how saucy you like the dish), stir to mix, and once it comes to a boil, cover and turn the heat down to low. Let it all cook, with occasional stirring, for 10-15 mins.
  8. Add the black pepper, garam masala, cilantro, cook for another minute or two. Eat. (This dish gets better after a few hours or overnight in the fridge. Also freezes well).