Home Style Bengali Chicken Curry Recipes

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir the onions in the hot oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger-garlic paste and continue cooking another 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; stir the tomatoes into the mixture and cook until the tomatoes are pulpy, 5 to 10 minutes. Season with the cayenne pepper, curry powder, garam masala, turmeric, and cumin; cook and stir another 5 minutes.
• Add the chicken and potatoes to the mixture in the skillet; simmer, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle the cilantro over the mixture and continue simmering another 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a heavy based pot on a medium heat, then add chopped Onions, Bay leaves, Cardamom pods, Cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook on a low to medium flame, stirring occasionally, until Onions are translucent about 8-10 minutes.
• After Onions have been cooking for around 8-10 minutes, add 2 tablespoons of Garlic and Ginger paste, stir and cook for a further 5-7 minutes, again stirring to make sure it doesn't burn. (Don't use the G&G in jars it doesn't taste the same as fresh, I buy the Raj frozen minced Garlic and Ginger from Morrison's, Asda etc, it's 100% fresh.
• Now add the Spice! Add your Coriander powder, Cumin powder, Chili powder, Curry powder and Turmeric powder. Mix and stir the mixture well and cook on a low heat until the oil separates from the masala, about 5-7 minutes. Again stir frequently to avoid mixture burning.
• Add your skinless Chicken thighs and mix well, coating them in the Onion mixture. Cook them for 3-4 minutes stirring on a medium heat. (I use on the bone thighs, skin removed, that I chop in half with a Cleaver or Heavy knife)
• Now boil the kettle. Add 180ml of boiling water to the mixture and stir and mix well. Cover and cook on a low flame, stirring now and again, until the Chicken is cooked through. It usually takes about 15-20 minutes. Stir in some fresh chopped Coriander once the Chicken is done.
• Taste the Curry to see if you want to add anymore salt. Serve with Basmati Rice or Chapati's. Enjoy!
• NOTE you can get creative with this dish by adding either Potatoes, Vegetables or Chana Dall. I like to add some grated lemon rind.

Steps:

• Roughly chop 1 large onion, transfer to a small food processor, and add 3 tbsp of water - process to a slack paste. You could use a stick blender for this or coarsely grate the onion into a bowl - there's no need to add any water if you are grating the onion. Tip into a small bowl and leave on one side.
• Put 6 roughly chopped garlic cloves and 50g roughly chopped ginger into the same food processor and add 4 tbsp water - process until smooth and spoon into another small bowl. Alternatively, crush the garlic to a paste with a knife or garlic press and finely grate the ginger.
• Heat 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok or sturdy pan set over a medium heat.
• Combine 2 tsp cumin seeds and 1 tsp fennel seeds with a 5cm cinnamon stick and 1 tsp chilli flakes and add to the pan in one go. Swirl everything around for about 30 secs until the spices release a fragrant aroma.
• Add the onion paste - it will splutter in the beginning. Fry until the water evaporates and the onions turn a lovely dark golden - this should take about 7-8 mins.
• Add the garlic and ginger paste and cook for another 2 mins - stirring all the time.
• Stir in 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp turmeric, and 1 tsp caster sugar and continue cooking for 20 secs before tipping in a 400g can chopped tomatoes.
• Continue cooking on a medium heat for about 10 mins without a lid until the tomatoes reduce and darken.
• Cut 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs into 3cm chunks and add to the pan once the tomatoes have thickened to a paste.
• Cook for 5 mins to coat the chicken in the masala and seal in the juices, and then pour over 250ml hot chicken stock.
• Simmer for 8-10 mins without a lid until the chicken is tender and the masala lightly thickened - you might need to add an extra ladleful of stock or water if the curry needs it.
• Sprinkle with 2 tbsp chopped coriander and serve with Indian flatbreads or fluffy basmati rice and a pot of yogurt on the side.