Methi Chicken Curry

INGREDIENTS:

1 Kg Chicken

2 -3 medium sized onions (chopped finely into squares)

2 -3 medium sized tomatoes (or ready tomato puree)

1-2 potatoes (each cut into 4 quarters, potatoes are optional though)

3 - 4 tbspn yoghurt

1 cup fresh methi (fresh fenugreek) leaves (washed and chopped finely)

2 Tspn grated ginger

2 tspn grated garlic

1 green chilly (finely chopped)

Fresh coriander (for garnishing)

2 tbspn oil

SPICES:

4-5 black peppercorns

1-2 cloves

1 stick cinnamon

1-2 tspn red chilli powder

3 tspn coriander powder

1/4 tspn turmeric powder 

Salt as per your taste

1 tspn kitchen king powder

1 tspn garam masala powder

METHOD:
Wash and clean the chicken well. Remove all the water from it and then marinate the chicken with yoghurt.

Add salt, red chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric into it.

Mix well together so that the chicken blends well with the spices, cover it, and let this sit for atleast half an hour.

While the chicken is kept for marination heat oil. Add the cloves, black peppercorns and cinnamon when the oil is hot. 

After about 15 seconds of the spices getting roasted add grated ginger and the grated garlic into the vessel. 

Do not make the garlic and ginger brown but while they are sizzling add finely chopped onions and the green chillies and stir well on medium high flame for about 3-4 minutes.

Now lower the flame, cover with a lid and let the onions cook, stirring occasionally making sure the onions do not burn.

In the meantime wash the methi (fenugreek leaves) well.

Chop the methi leaves finely.

 The onions should be brown as shown below. At this point, if you like a smooth curry you can puree the onions in a mixer/grinder (but then use the tomato puree and not chopped tomatoes if you want a creamy gravy/curry) or just follow the steps below as they are.

Now you can add the methi leaves into the onions.

 Stir well and keep covered on a low flame for about 5 minutes.

Peel the skin of the potatoes, wash and cut them. Keep them ready.

Now add the potatoes along with the chicken into the onions.

Mix well on a high flame and let it come to a boil.

Once it starts boiling lower the flame and keep it covered for 10 to 15 minutes stirring occasionally making sure its not sticking on the bottom or burning. If it is, you can very little water, (normally it should not stick to the bottom since the yoghurt and chicken give out its own water) mix and cover again on low flame and cook till the chicken is tender.

Now you can add finely chopped tomatoes or the ready tomato puree.

As you can see I have used the tomato puree as it gives a really nice color to the gravy.

Mix well. If you use chopped tomatoes make sure they blend well and finally should dissolve in the curry. Basically mix and cook them well.

Add 1-2 glasses of water depending on how thick you like your gravy to be. If you want to have it with rice you can add more water and if you are going to have it with Indian bread then use less water. Also depends on how your family likes it, thick or thin.

As you can see, I have used more water to get a thinner gravy.

Once the gravy starts to boil, lower the flame and cover it with a lid for about 8-10 minutes and let this simmer on a low flame.

Add the garam masala. Mix well.

Add the kitchen king masala and mix again.

The color of the gravy becomes a nice reddish brown once we add the garam masala and the kitchen king masala. They are easily available in all Indian stores.

The chicken should be tender and potato soft. Pierce a knife through the potato to see if it has cooked. Finally garnish the curry with freshly chopped coriander.

 Serve hot with rice.

**Instead of methi (fenugreek leaves) you can also use chopped spinach. Its a nice way of adding some green and leafy veggy into the curry. It tastes yummy and is a healthy option for kids who are not too fond of veggies.

I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.
W. C. Fields