Chettinad Pepper Chicken Recipe Courtesy Of Madhur Jaffrey Food

CHICKEN IN A FRIED ONION SAUCE

Steps:

• Cut the chicken into large pieces. If you must use chicken breasts, cut them into 4-6 pieces. Just keep in mind that by using breasts, you're reducing both the fat content (yay!) AND the flavor (boo) and the result will be slightly drier chicken.
• Chop half of the onions coarsely. Cut the remaining onions into halves, lengthwise, and then crosswise into very thin slices.
• Put the chopped onions, ginger and garlic into the container of an electric blender. Blend to a paste.
• Put the oil in a large, wide sauté pan or a large, deep frying pan (nonstick) and set over medium heat. When hot, put in the sliced, onions. Stir and fry the onions until they are a deep, reddish brown color. Remove the onions with a slotted spoon, squeezing out and leaving behind as much of the oil as possible. Put on a plate and set aside.
• Take the pan off the heat. Put in the paste (keep face averted). Put the pan back onto the heat. Stir and fry the paste until it is brown, about 3-4 minutes. Now put in the ground coriander, cumin, turmeric and cayenne and stir once. Put in 1 Tbsp of the yogurt. Stir for about 30 seconds or until it is incorporated in the sauce. Add all the yogurt this way. Add the chicken pieces and stir them around for a minute.
• Pour in the water, add the tomatoes and salt. Stir to mix and bring to a simmer. Cover, turn heat to low, and cook for 20 minutes. Sprinkle in the garam masala and the fried onions. Mix. Cook, uncovered, on medium heat for 7-8 minutes or until the sauce reduces and thickens.
• Skim off the fat and put the chicken in a warm serving dish. Sprinkle the cilantro or parsley over the top. Nom!

CHICKEN IN A RED SWEET PEPPER SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine onions, ginger, garlic, almonds, peppers, cumin , coriander, turmeric, cayenne and salt in a food processor or blender. Blend until you have a smooth paste.
• Put the oil in a large, wide non-stick pan and heat til hot.
• Pour in all the paste from the food processor.
• Stir and fry the paste for 10-12 minutes or until you can see the oil forming tiny bubbles around it.
• Put in the chicken, with the water, lemon juice and pepper and bring to a boil.
• Cover, turn heat to ow and simmer gently for 25mins.
• Stir a few times during this cooking period.

LEMONY CHICKEN WITH FRESH CORIANDER (MADHUR JAFFREY)

Steps:

• Put the ginger and 1/4 cups water into a blender or processor. Blend until you have a paste; set aside.
• Note: The original recipe doesn't call for seasoning the chicken prior to browning, but I prefer the way the salt and pepper penetrates at this level. Also, I cut the breasts in half. Proceede by putting the oil in a wide, heavy pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, put in as many chicken pieces as the pan will hold in a single layer and brown on both sides. It's not necessary to deeply brown because of the additional cook time later and they may become dry. Remove the chicken pieces with a slotted spoon and put them in a bowl. Sear all the chicken pieces this way.
• Add the garlic to the hot oil. As soon as the pieces turn a medium-brown color, turn heat to medium and pour in the ginger paste. Stir-fry it for a minute. Add the fresh coriander, jalapeno, cayenne, cumin, coriander, turmeric and salt. Stir and cook for a minute.
• Put in all the chicken pieces as well as any liquid that might have accumulated in the chicken bowl. Add 2/3 cup water and the lemon juice. Stir and bring to a boil. Cover tightly, turn heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.
• Turn the chicken pieces over. Cover again and cook another 10 to 15 minutes or until the chicken is tender. If the sauce is too thin, uncover the pan and boil some of it away over a slightly higher heat.
• Serve with basmati rice.