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Chilli Garlic Chicken

by Monir Mohammed, Martin Gray from Mother India at Home: Recipes Pictures Stories

An inviting chilli and garlic chicken recipe from the Mother India at Home book. The chicken curry dish is a real showstopper served with warm chapatis and rice.

From the book

Monir Mohammed, Martin Gray

Introduction

This is one of the most popular dishes in the Mother India restaurant, where we usually serve it with chapatis and basmati rice.

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Ingredients

700g chicken, boned, skin off and cut into 2.5cm pieces
2 tbsp sunflower oil
20g butter
2 small onions, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
20g fresh ginger, chopped
2 green chillies, finely diced
1 tsp cumin seeds
4 cloves, slightly crushed
1 black cardamom pod
1 small cinnamon stick
½ x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp red chilli powder
1 handful of fresh coriander
1 pinch of grated nutmeg
For the marinade:
1 tbsp mustard oil or extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp salt
2 green chillies, finely chopped
½ tsp cracked black pepper
1 tbsp garlic pickle (see ingredients for the pickle below)
For the garlic pickle:
¼ tsp fennel seeds
¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
1 star anise
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp brown sugar
½ tbsp salt
175ml white malt vinegar
3 bulbs of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

Method

You’ll need to make the garlic pickle in advance. In a small pan, dry roast the fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds and star anise for about 30 seconds, then add the olive oil. After another 30 seconds add the sugar, salt and vinegar and let everything simmer for about 5 minutes. Take off the heat and let it cool down, then add the garlic and mix well. Transfer into glass jars and leave for one week for all the flavours to combine before using. Half a teaspoon of this will add a kick to any dish but you’ll need a tablespoon for the Chilli Garlic Chicken recipe.

Now for the chicken…

Put all the marinade ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Add the chicken pieces and make sure they are completely coated. Cover and leave in the fridge for at least a couple of hours, and preferably overnight.

Heat the oil and butter in a large pan. Once hot, add the onions and cook gently for a few minutes, then add the garlic, ginger and green chillies. Cook for a further 3 minutes, then add the cumin, cloves, black cardamom and cinnamon stick and let the spices simmer away for a few minutes.

Add the tinned tomatoes, salt, turmeric and chilli powder Stir well, let everything cook for 5—10 minutes, then add the marinated chicken. Mix well and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through, then add the coriander and a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg. Cover with a lid, simmer for 1 minute, then serve.

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