Dahi Chicken- Chicken in a Yoghurt And Coriander Sauce

 
( I am still holidaying in Thailand. This is an auto-scheduled post, Woohoo technology!)

Sometimes I get a craving for Indian food so bad and I want it NOW. The food has to be quick, easy and hearty. This curry hits all the right spots. It is a delicious creamy curry with a slight tang from the yoghurt and a hearty flavor from coriander.

All the quantities in the recipe fall under the ‘roughly’ category. I didn’t really weigh them, but you can’t go wrong with this recipe. Simply do the- If it’s heavy on the spices, add some more yoghurt, if it’s too bland, add more spice- dance. But watch out that you don’t overcook it,yoghurt tends to curdle and lump from overcooking instead of giving a creamy texture. Also, use freshly roasted and ground coriander seeds if you can. The difference in taste and aroma between freshly ground and pre powdered is huge.

INGREDIENTS (Serves Two )

• 3 chicken breasts.
• 2 big onions. Chopped.
• 7 big fat garlic cloves
• A thumb of ginger. Approx 25 grams
• 300gm thick natural yoghurt. I used a 2% Greek yoghurt.
• 3 whole cardamoms
• 2 bay leaves.
• Half tsp turmeric powder
• Half tsp chilli powder
• 2 green chillies ( Optional )
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp tsp garam masala
• Handful fresh coriander. Chopped with stalks and all.
• 2 tbsp oil
• Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

• Chop onions into cubes. Finely slice ginger. Finely chop garlic. Cube chicken into bite sized pieces.
• Bring a heavy bottomed pan or ‘kadhai’ to heat on medium and add oil. Add whole cardamoms and bay leaves when oil is ready.  Add onion, garlic and ginger when the whole cardamoms start to sizzle. Fry until golden brown and tender. Cook for approx 5 minutes stirring continuously. If the mixture sticks to the bottom of the pan, ease it out by adding some water and stirring.  Add turmeric powder and chilli powder to the mixture and stir for another 3 minutes or until oil starts separating from the mixture.
• Add chicken pieces, give it a good stir, cover and cook on high heat till chicken is done. (Approx 2 minutes) At this point, add half of your fresh, chopped coriander.
• Turn heat down to medium and add yoghurt. Add coriander powder and garam masala. Stir regularly till chicken is cooked through. The curry should be done when you spot some oil droplets floating up to the surface of the curry. Add salt to taste. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve with basmati rice or any Indian bread such as Roti or Naan.