Chicken With Cream

To continue with the Indian theme of 2010, I made another recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's cookbook, Indian Cooking - Malai wali murghi or chicken with cream. This dish was super easy to make, was full of flavor, and everyone loved it!
Here is the recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's book:
Ingredients:

1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepperfreshly ground black pepper
3 pounds chicken pieces, skinned
6-7 cloves garlic, peeled
1 inch cube fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups water
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
4 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 teaspoon garam masala
6 tablespoons heavy cream

• Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, 1 teaspoon of the cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of the coriander, 1/4 teaspoon of the turmeric, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, and some black pepper on the chicken pieces. Mix well and set aside for at least 1 hour.

• Put the garlic and ginger into the container of a food processor. Add 1/2 cup of the water and blend until fairly smooth.

• Put the oil in a wide, nonstick pot and set over medium-high heat. When hot, put in as many chicken pieces as the pot will hold easily in a single layer and brown lightly on both sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl. Brown all the chicken pieces the same way.

• Put the chopped onion into the remaining oil. Stir and fry until the pieces turn a medium-brown color. Add the garlic-ginger paste. Stir and fry until all the water from the paste evaporates and you see the oil again. Put in the remaining 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon coriander, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne. Stir and fry for about 20 seconds. Now put in the chopped tomatoes. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Stir and cook the spice paste for 3-4 minutes, mashing the tomato pieces with the back of a slotted spoon. Add the yogurt, a tablespoon at a time, incorporating it into the sauce each time before adding more. Put in the chicken pieces and any accumulated juices, the remaining 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes. Take off the cover. Add the garam masala and cream. Mix gently.

• Turn the heat up to medium high and cook, stirring gently every now and then, until the sauce has reduced somewhat and has turned fairly thick.

Serves 6

Notes:

I used canned diced tomatoes and I marinated the chicken for about 3 hours. I followed the directions up to adding the cream and garam masala - instead, I cooked the dish slowly all afternoon and then completed the dish with the cream and garam masala as directed. I served this with rice and naan and think that some fresh string beans would also go well with the meal.

This was definitely another successful dish from Madhur Jaffrey's cookbook! I have yet to make something that I didn't like or that did not turn out well. If you like Indian food at all and want to try to cook some at home, i would recommend this book whole heartedly!

Thanks again Andrea for such a nice gift!!!