Punjabi Chicken Curry

Punjabi Chicken Curry – A delicious chicken curry. Best with Chapati, Naan, Phulkas, Pulao …

Serves: 3

Ingredients

For the cashew nut paste:

Soak 8 cashew nuts in 2 tablespoon water for 2 hours and make a smooth paste in a small mixer bowl. Keep aside.

For the Spice paste:

2 teaspoon ginger – garlic paste

¾ teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

½ teaspoon jeera powder (cumin seed powder)

¼ teaspoon clove powder

¼ teaspoon nut meg powder

¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder

2 tablespoon water

In a small bow, mix all the ingredients together and make a smooth paste. Keep aside.

Other ingredients

1 tablespoon oil

1 onion, thinly sliced (separate each layer)

1 green chilli, slit lengthwise

Spice paste

1 tomato, cubed

500 g chicken pieces (wash and cleaned. Drain out water thoroughly)

1 cup / 200 ml / 8 oz hot water

¼ cup / 3 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves (adding chopped coriander leaves gives a unique flavour to this curry. Please do not miss this step)

¾ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Cashew nut paste

1 teaspoon chopped coriander leaves

Method

In a karahi / pan, heat oil on medium heat. Add thinly sliced onion and fry until golden brown color. Add slit green chilli and fry for 1 – 2 minutes.

Add spice paste and stir well on a low heat for 3 – 4 minutes until the raw smell goes and thickens.

Add tomato cubes and stir well for 2 minutes.

Add chicken pieces and stir well for 2 minutes.

Now add 1 cup hot water, ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves and salt to taste. Mix well. Please check the water level. It should be up to the level of chicken pieces. If it’s less, then adjust with ¼ cup  water. Do not add water 1 – inch above the level of chicken. Then the gravy will be too thin and it won’t be tasty. Cover with a tight lid and cook on a medium to low heat for 30 – 35 minutes or until done / chicken well cooked / gravy thickens / fragrant.

At this stage, add cashew nut paste and cook on a low heat again for 2 minutes. Switch off the heat. 

Consume this curry after half an hour. Then it’ll absorb all the flavors. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves when serving.