Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk

So coconut milk has been my new obsession to cook with. I make sure I have in stock either some coconut milk powder or small packs of coconut milk. Small packs always come handy for home cooking as it ensures no waste due to expiry and are easy to store till  not opened.

This chicken curry is something I made totally on my own. It is creamy and bursting with flavours. According to Arun, it was the best chicken curry of the quarantine. That says it all, I guess! 

It goes so well with rice, roti or paratha. Give it a try and you sure will have a winner.

Ingredients: 

• 1 kg chicken 
• 5 onions, 2 of which julienned and 3 of them finely chopped
• 2 sticks of cinnamon, 2-3 cardamom, 5-7 cloves 
• 2 tablespoon grated garlic
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 1tsp turmeric 
• 2tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt to taste 
• 3-4 green chillies. Keep them whole of you can’t bear the heat else, slit them through the middle.
• 200ml coconut milk
• For tempering : 2tsp ghee, 1 tsp mustard seed, 10 curry leaves ( you don’t have to be so specific!), 1 dried red chilli. 

Method: 

• Marinate the chicken with salt and keep aside.
• Fry the julienned onions in 4 tbsp of oil till golden brown and take them out on a plate covered with kitchen towel or paper napkins to drain the excess oil. 
• In the same oil fry each side of the chicken pieces for 2 mins in high flame to get a nice brown colour. Frankly, it will be tough to resist yourself from taking a bite of the chicken at this stage but hold on. They are not cooked well yet. What I realised is that this step might sound unnecessary but it makes the chicken really tender. 
• After taking out the chicken, in the same pan add the cinnamon, cardamom and clove. Right when they start to release beautiful aroma add the finely chopped onion and sugar. The sugar caramelises the onion and balances out the flavour. 
• Sauté the onions in medium flame and add the grated ginger and garlic. Add turmeric, red chilli powder and sauté till it starts to release oil.
• Add the chicken, mix  well and add about a cup of boiling water. Cover the pan and let it cook in low flame for 20 mins. At this point you can add salt as per your taste just keep in my the chicken was marinated with salt. 
• Check every five minutes and if you want to add water anytime, add boiling water.
• After 20 mins when the chicken is almost cooked add the coconut milk and the slit green chillies and cover and let it come to boil.
• Let it boil for another 15 to 20 mins or until the chicken is cooked.
• No, I have not forgotten the fried onions. Now is the time to sprinkle it on. Well, it’s true that it’s not everyday that I feel so fancy (read have patience) to make friend onions to add it in the end. So, you can skip this but I assure you it adds a little something to the chicken curry. 

• Now the best part-  to take the curry to next level. In a small pan add 2 tsp ghee. When it heats up add the mustard seed ,curry leaves and one whole dried red chilli. Cool until the spices start to crackle then add it to the chicken curry. 
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