My Cookery Page

120g (1/2 cup) shallots or small onions ; 2 tbsp ginger; 10 cloves garlic; 1 tsp cumin seeds; 1 tsp black peppercorns; 10g dried red chillies - cut into 2cm lengths; 150g (1-1/2cup) grated coconut; 1 kg chicken - skinned & washed, cut into 12 pcs;  5 tbsp oil; 4cm cinnamon stick;  5 cloves; 8 cardamoms; 1 tsp cumin;  1 onion - finely sliced; 150g cubed tomatoes; 1 tsp tumeric powder; 250ml (1 cup) water;  1-1/2 tsp salt; 60g (1 cup) coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped.

Methods:

1) Grind the shallots, ginger, garlic, cumin, black peppercorns, dried chillies and grated coconut until fine.  Add to the chicken and coat well.  Marinade for 20 minutes.

2) In a large pot, heat the oil and fry the cinnamon, cloves, cardamons and cumin until aromatic.  Add the onion and fry on low until golden brown, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the tomatoes and continue to cook until the oil separates, abt 5 minutes.

3) Add the chicken pieces with the marinade and the tumeric powder,  stirring well to blend the chicken with the cooked spices, about 2 minutes.

4)  Add the water and salt and cook until the chicken is tender, about 20 minutes.

5)  Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Serve 4-6 ; Preparation :  35 minutes ;  Cooking time:  40 minutes

COMMENTS;

Here’s a twist!  When I cooked it, I had overlooked and used yoghurt instead of grated coconut!  And it turned out to be so delicious, but then I am a fan of yoghurt in indian cooking, so thats cool for me!