Cardamom Chicken Curry
Sometimes I get the urge to really cook. There's something about making a dish from scratch that I find fundamentally satisfying. Yesterday was one of those days. Right now, Alex has free subscriptions to a bunch of magazines, and one of them is Saveur, which recently had a section on cooking with cardamom. This recipe wasn't actually all that time-consuming, it just involved a lot of chopping and enough foresight to let dinner marinate for a while. More than I'd do if I didn't feel the urge to cook. And, all things considered, it was also cheap and pretty healthy, and the spices made it special. I give you:
Saveur's Cardamom Chicken Curry
1.5 c plain yogurt
1.5 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground turmeric (I didn't have any, used a little coriander, and it was still good, maybe not as pretty)
1 tsp salt
12 pods green cardamom, crushed
2 lbs skinless bone-in chicken thighs and legs (I think this would be great with chicken breast, too.)
a blurp of canola oil
8 whole peppercorns
3 pods black cardamom (I didn't have any, so I used 3 extra green pods)
1 2" stick cinnamon
2 small yellow onions, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 serrano chiles, stemmed, seeded and minced (I could only get a jalapeno, and the heat was barely even noticeable)
1 1" piece ginger, peeled, minced
cilantro for garnish (I didn't feel like buying this for just a garnish, but if you have some around, I'm sure it would be great)
Combine yogurt, chile powder, turmeric, salt, and 8 pods cardamom in a large bowl; add chicken, mix, and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to overnight.
Heat oil in a medium sized pot over medium heat (something with a base wide enough to arrange the chicken in one layer, and at least a couple of inches high would work well). Add remaining green cardamom along with peppercorns, black cardamom, and cinnamon; cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add onions, garlic, chiles, and ginger; cook, stirring occasionally, adding tablespoons of water as needed, until onions are browned. Add chicken and marinade; cook, flipping chicken occasionally until most of the liquid is gone, 20-30 minutes. (At this point, I let the chicken brown a little on each side.) Add 1/3 c water, bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook until the sauce has thickened. Garnish with a little yogurt and ginger on top, cilantro if you have it, and serve with rice. We had spinach and squash too, and it was really nice.
1.5 c plain yogurt
1.5 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground turmeric (I didn't have any, used a little coriander, and it was still good, maybe not as pretty)
1 tsp salt
12 pods green cardamom, crushed
2 lbs skinless bone-in chicken thighs and legs (I think this would be great with chicken breast, too.)
a blurp of canola oil
8 whole peppercorns
3 pods black cardamom (I didn't have any, so I used 3 extra green pods)
1 2" stick cinnamon
2 small yellow onions, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 serrano chiles, stemmed, seeded and minced (I could only get a jalapeno, and the heat was barely even noticeable)
1 1" piece ginger, peeled, minced
cilantro for garnish (I didn't feel like buying this for just a garnish, but if you have some around, I'm sure it would be great)
Combine yogurt, chile powder, turmeric, salt, and 8 pods cardamom in a large bowl; add chicken, mix, and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to overnight.
Heat oil in a medium sized pot over medium heat (something with a base wide enough to arrange the chicken in one layer, and at least a couple of inches high would work well). Add remaining green cardamom along with peppercorns, black cardamom, and cinnamon; cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add onions, garlic, chiles, and ginger; cook, stirring occasionally, adding tablespoons of water as needed, until onions are browned. Add chicken and marinade; cook, flipping chicken occasionally until most of the liquid is gone, 20-30 minutes. (At this point, I let the chicken brown a little on each side.) Add 1/3 c water, bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook until the sauce has thickened. Garnish with a little yogurt and ginger on top, cilantro if you have it, and serve with rice. We had spinach and squash too, and it was really nice.
Comments
I will try this!