Kalonji Chicken
Total time: 2 hours?
Ingredients
- 5 Tbsps ghee
- 2 Tbsps kalonji seed
- 1 Tbsp cumin seed
- 3 large onions, finely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, pureed
- 2 Tbsps ginger, pureed
- 6 plum tomatoes, pureed
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons salt (to taste)
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1.5 teaspoons garam masala
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1lb bag of frozen peas
Steps
- Heat ghee in wide-bottom pot over medium heat.
- Add kalonji seeds.
- When they begin to sizzle, add cumin seeds and cook for 45 seconds.
- Reduce heat and add onions.
- Saute for 10 minutes or until golden.
- Add garlic and cook until golden.
- Add ginger, tomatoes, tomato paste** and remaining spices.
- Cook for 5 minutes*.
- Add chicken and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
- Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
- Remove from heat and add cilantro and frozen peas.
Notes
- * The original recipe says to “cook until oil separates from sauce, about 5 minutes.” I have never seen this happen in practice.
- ** Next time, I think it’s worth adding the tomato paste first and cooking it to achieve a richer flavor.
Commentary
- The recipe this is adapted from is itself adapted from another recipe, though I haven’t been able to find that one for myself.
- Cutting up the garlic and ginger, as in the original recipe, isn’t worth it since you can chuck them in the blender with the tomatoes and everything tastes roughly the same.
- The frozen peas are an addition that I think came from when we were trying to make a vegetarian version with potatoes. I didn’t like the outcome much, but also just had COVID (April 2020, yikes), so I probably just couldn’t taste it well.