Serves 4 as a main dish
Handi Chicken is a popular Punjabi dish named after the wide Indian cooking pot used particularly in north India and Pakistan. The famous Balti has origins in dishes such as these.
What you need…
• 2 Tablespoons ghee
• 3 onions sliced
• 2 teaspoons ginger paste
• 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• salt to taste
• 800g chicken, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 5-6 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 Tablespoons plain yoghurt
• 1 Tablespoon double cream
• small handful of fresh coriander, chopped
Spice Mix 1
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds crushed
• 3 whole chillies
Spice Mix 2
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
How to make it…
1. Heat the ghee in a pan. Add Spice Mix 1 and fry for 15 seconds. to test if ghee is hot enough put in one cumin seed. It should sizzle immediately).
2. Add the onions and fry until they are golden brown.
3. Add the ginger, garlic, Spice Mix 2 and salt, stir well and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add in the chicken and cook until all the pieces are white. This should take about 3–4 minutes.
5. Add in the tomatoes and cook for 8 minutes.
6. Add in the yoghurt, cream and most of the fresh coriander (keep a small bit for the garnish), stir well and cook for 2-3 minutes. Ensure that the chicken is cooked through.
7. Serve, garnished with the remainder of the fresh coriander.
• Recipe by Kedar Chandra, chef at Pakbo restaurant in Flic en Flac, Mauritius.
The stalks of the coriander have the most flavour, so mix them in with the curry and keep the leaves for the garnish.
If you like this you should try our…
Why did the chicken cross the leather? … To get to the other suede.
Sindhi Biryani • Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo • Chicken Bhoona