Indian Chicken Dishes

Here are two delicious Indian Chicken Dishes. The first we made about a week ago, the second we had for dinner tonight! Both Recipes come from 1,000 Indian Recipes by Neelam Batra.

Chicken Curry with Dry-Roasted Spices

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste (we made this, basically blending ginger and garlic. For the 2nd recipe we just bought it pre-mixed. Much easier cause we only have a stick blender.)
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp white poppy seeds ( we did not include)
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp green cardamon seeds
• 1 tsp ground dried pomegranate seeds ( we did not include)
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 1/2 lbs chicken (we used thighs)
• 1 1/2 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup nonfat plain yogurt - whisked til smooth
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro

First you have to prepare the ginger-garlic paste. Like I said, this was kinda of a pain and we couldn't get it blended really well. It would probably be worthwhile to just buy the paste if you plan to cook a lot of Indian.



















Next in a little dish put the cumin, garam masala, poppy seeds, ginger, cardamon, and pomegranate seeds.




















Throw them into a small skillet and roast on medium low for about 2 minutes, or until they start to smell all yummy.



















Next in a big pan heat up your oil and cook the onion til well browned. Here is some onion browning. I'm pretty sure I have a picture like this in almost every blog post.



















Add the ginger-garlic paste to the onions.



















Then add the chicken, coriander and salt.



















Cook for about 7 minutes, flipping the chicken a couple of times. You want the chicken to be nice and browned.

Add the yogurt. You have to do this slowly and only add a little at a time. Also you have to stir it while you do it so it doesn't curdle...cause that's icky.



















Once all the yogurt is mixed in throw the roasted spices on and then cook everything on medium heat until all the liquid evaporates and the chicken is done. Roughly 15 minutes ( according to book, ours took closer to 25ish).



















Serve with some rice and enjoy!









































Traditional Indian Chicken with Spinach

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp ginger-garlic paste (from a jar)
• 1 chicken- 2 to 3 lbs skinned and cut into pieces. Don't use the wings or back.
• 1 cup nonfat plain yogurt - whisked til smooth
• 2 tbsp fresh minced mint leaves
• 1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves ( did not use)
• 1 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp ground paprika ( did not use)
  
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes ( did not use, we substituted 1/4 tsp chili powder)
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp oil
• 1 large onion - chopped finely
• 2 larges bunches of spinach, washed and cut coarsely
  
• 1/4 cup lowfat milk

In a bowl place the chicken, garlic-ginger paste, yogurt, mint, fenugreek leaves, garam masala, paprika, red pepper flakes, nutmeg, salt, and 1 tbsp oil. Mix so that all the chicken is nice and coated and marinate for at least 4 hours and up to 24.



















24 hours later...

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan on medium heat. Throw your onion in there and let it cook til nice and brown.

Then stick your spinach in the pan, cover and let cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Let it cook until its all wilted. I had to drain some water out at the end, I don't know if it's necessary or not.



















Once the spinach is wilted put the chicken and all the marinade in the pan. Increase the heat to high for 2-3 minutes and let cook. Stir frequently. After about 3 minutes reduce the heat back down to medium, cover and let cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.



















After 30 minutes (or when chicken is done) add the milk and let that simmer for a minute or two.






















Serve with some potatoes and enjoy!