Green Chili Chicken

From A Taste of India, Madhur Jaffrey, Antheneum, NY, 1988.

This is a dish from Kerala, in the south of India. It's not an overly vibrant dish, but a darkish, good one.

Ingredients

3 pounds chicken, skinned and cut into small serving pieces, or 1.5 pounds boneless chicken, cut into small serving pieces
A walnut-sized lump of tamarind, or 2T lemon juice
1t salt
1.5t sugar
12-15 fresh or dried curry leaves
1/2 pound (or 2 cups) shallots, peeled and finely sliced
6-7 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1.5 inch cube fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
7 fresh hot green chillies (or four jalapenos), 5 cut into fine rings, and 2 cut into long slivers.
2 small tomatoes, chopped
1/2t ground turmeric
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne

Directions

Break up the tamarind into small pieces and put in a cup or small bowl. Cover with 1/2 cup of boiling water and set aside for 1 to 2 hours. Mash up the tamarind and then sieve the pulp into another bowl. Discard the leftovers from the sieve. Mix the sieved pulp with a quarter of the salt and all the sugar. Set aside. Over a medium-high flame, heat the oil in a heavy, casserole-type pan. When hot, put in the curry leaves. Let them sizzle for a couple of seconds. Then add the shallots, garlic, ginger, and the 5 chillies cut into rings. Stir and fry for 5 to 6 minutes or until the shallots have browned lightly.

Now put in the tomatoes. Keep stirring and frying for another 4 minutes or until the tomatoes have turned soft and have started to brown. Add the turmeric and cayenne and give a quick stir. Now put in the chicken and the remaining salt. Give the chicken a stir. Add 1.25 cups of water and bring to a simmer for 20 minutes. Stir the chicken once during this time.

Add the slices of green chili, cover again and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the lid. Stir the tamarind mixture and pour it in. Stir the chicken gently to mix. Turn the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes so the sauce can reduce a bit. As it does so, keep spooning the sauce over the top of the chicken. Take care that the chicken does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

Spoon off some of the surplus fat from the top of the dish before serving.

Jim Plank

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