Good to be back here! It’s a long shift in my kitchen tonight as I prep for a private catering event later today. Christmas parties everywhere! The biriyani masala mix is well under way, wafting its aromas at this rather ungodly hour 😳
While I wait, having of course done all my chopping, I thought a bit of blogging wouldn’t go amiss given it has been a while…
Last week I cooked this flavoursome traditional dish which, as the name suggests, does not use archar (pickle) in the recipe at all! No, no no. The achari tanginess is created with my favourite good old Bengali ‘five spice’ mix. I still remember the flavour created by this incredible concoction of five seeds when my grandma made her delectable chicken curry during our rare visits to see her in Bangladesh.
So this is how it goes:
Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 40 mins
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 medium chicken or 2 chicken breasts cut into curry pieces
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 heaped teaspoon panch phoron (five spice mix)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 tbsp ginger purée
- 1 tbsp garlic purée
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 200g chopped tinned tomato
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 3/4 tsp roasted ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- Salt to taste
- 1/2 hot cup water
- 2 green chillies (optional)
- Handful fresh coriander leaves, chopped (optional)
How to cook
- Wash and drain the chicken well (although it’s best not to wash the chicken to prevent campylobacter cells from spreading – the most common cause of food poisoning; cooking the chicken thoroughly will remove this as well as other bacteria – read NHS article here).
- Heat the oil gently and add the five spice mix. Wait until the seeds sizzle.
- Add the onions and cook over a medium flame until golden brown (up to 10 minutes).
- Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.
- Add the tomatoes, cover and cook until soft and pulpy.
- Mash down the tomato mixture with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the turmeric, ground coriander, cumin, chilli powder, salt and garam masala. Add a splash of water if the mixture becomes dry. Stir well and allow to ‘bhuna’ (i.e. the oil should separate from the spices and float to the top).
- Stir in the the chicken pieces ensuring they are well coated with the spice mixture. Cook for 5 minutes over a medium-high flame, ensuring the spices do not stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Add the water and bring to boil. Simmer for 2 mins, then drop in the green chillies, if using.
- Cover and cook on a low flame until the chicken is thoroughly done.
- Garnish with coriander leaves, if using, just before serving.
Enjoy 😊
