Spicy chicken curry

I have decided! I am cooking this weekend, mere haathon banaya khana :D :D...

Menu set, shopping done, am all set! :D

For a good traditional lunch, we usually have rice, with some gravy, a veg dish and a non-veg dish. Today's non-veg dish is chicken curry

Even though the procedure I described below looks like rocket science, trust me it's not. Looks can totally be deceiving ;D

I talk too much sometimes, so I chitchatted into the recipe (for our own good only, knowledge sharing is after all a virtue na ;-)). That's why the recipe looks big. It's very simple, so you have nothing to worry in case you decide to try it sometime

What I used

1. Cleaned and cut chicken : 1/2 kg
2. Onions: 2 big ones
3. Curry leaves: 2 sprigs
4. Chopped coriander leaves: a handful
5. Tomatoes: 1 medium sized
6. Potato: 1
7. Finely chopped ginger and garlic: 2 teaspoons of each
8. Green chilies: 4
9. Chicken curry masala bought from store: 3 tablespoons
10. Coriander powder: 2 teaspoons
11. Red chili powder: 1 teaspoon
12. Coconut milk: 1 cup
13. Salt: to taste
14. Waster: as per gravy requirement
15. Mustard seeds: 1/2 teaspoon
16. Oil: 1/4 cup

How I made it

1. In a thick-bottomed vessel, heat the oil,splutter the mustard seeds and add the ginger garlic along with curry leaves
   If you don't like biting into the ginger and garlic in curries, I suggest using ginger-garlic paste so gravy is smoother
2. Once the ginger-garlic aroma starts to activate your olfactory senses, it is time to add the chopped onion and saute 
3. Keep the flame on medium and when the onions start changing color, add salt till onion is translucent
   I like biting into sauteed onion for its sweet taste. But if you like smooth gravy, reduce the flame and keep sauting till the onions have an almost melted mushy caramelized consistency
4. Once the onions have been cooked to satisfaction, add the chopped tomatoes. Just randomly slicing the tomatoes is also fine as they will just melt into the curry mix in the end
5. Keep stirring the contents till the tomatoes have become mushy
6. To this add the chicken masala, coriander and chili powders
   Ideally chicken masala alone is just fine, but since I like the taste of coriander, I added a little extra. If you don't like coriander, you needn't use it
7. Keep mixing till the raw smell of the masala is gone. In case contents start sticking to base of pan, add a bit of water to avoid burning of contents
8. To this mix, add the chicken pieces along with some salt and allow it to cook with closed lid on medium flame
   After about 15 min, you can see the chicken is releasing its water content and gravy is forming. It's better to taste the gravy at this stage to check for the balance of flavors so alterations can be made. 
9. To this, add the diced potato, green chilies and coriander leaves, and water if more gravy is required. Mix and cook with pan covered for about 10 min
10. Finally add the coconut milk and cook for about 40 min till the chicken is fully cooked
    After 40 min, you can turn off the flame and let the chicken rest so it can cook in the existing heat of the pan

Note: An advantage of adding potato to chicken curry is that it absorbs excess salt. So, if you added excess salt initially, adding potato is a useful way to balance the saltiness

This chicken curry coupled with the tanginess of lemon pickle alongside rice, a thoran and pulissery made my lunch a hearty one. I have felt lemon pickle to be a good combo with chicken and beef curries :D :D