Coriander/ Cilantro Chicken

You must be wondering the name says cilantro chicken, but the gravy is red! Well, it the bright color that comes out of tomatoes. Neat isn’t it?  :o)

This post is for monthly blog hopping event and I am paired with Swetha of Our Cherished World for this month. Visit her to find out what she has cooked from my collection. Going through her recipes this coriander prawns recipe caught my attention. I decided to try this with chicken. And boy was I glad to try it. It turned out really nice and tangy with a rich flavor of the curry. It's a must try and will be a sure hit.

Prep Time: 20 mins | Cooking time: 30 to 40 mins | Serves: 6 people

Ingredients:

Chicken - 1 Kg (2.2 lb - Was about 4 cups)

Marinate:

Yogurt – ½ cup

Chili powder - 4 tsp.

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp.

Salt to taste (About 1½  tsp.)

For Curry Paste:

Onion – 1 cup chopped

Tomato – 3 cups chopped

Yogurt – 1 ½ cup

Cashew nuts – 2 tbsp.

Ginger – 1 tbsp. grated

Garlic – About 10 pods

Cinnamon – Small piece

Cloves – 7 to 10

Pepper – 1 tsp.

Fennel seed – 1 tsp.

Cumin/ Jeera seeds – 1tsp.

Green Chilies – 5

Fresh Cilantro/ Coriander leaves – 1 big bunch.

Method of Preparation:

~ Cut and clean chicken. Mix everything under marinate into a paste. Apply to chicken and let it marinate atleast for 2 hours. I marinated overnight.

~ Grind all the ingredients under “For Curry paste”.

~ Heat 1 tbsp. of oil in a pan. Add the masala paste and fry for at-least 15 minutes on medium heat. After raw swell goes and oil starts to separate, simmer on low heat for another 10 minutes.

~ Now add the marinated chicken, increase the heat and mix for about 5 minutes.

~ Cover the pan and continue to cook until chicken is cooked completely. This took about 15 min. Uncover and simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes while stirring.

~ Goes really well with Italian bread, Chapati or rice.

Update: Just thought will add alternative vegetarian option to the list. The gravy itself was so good that it can be used in vegetarian dishes.

~ Potato gravy - Potato is so versatile that it goes well with any gravy that is meant for chicken. My mom would take out the gravy and then add meat in case someone in the house is not going to eat the non-veg dish. She would boil some potatoes and after bringing gravy to good boil, add potatoes and switch off the heat.

~ Bhindi/ Okra - Clean okra, pat dry them. Then fry them in little more oil than usual with little salt. Once half way done add the prepared gravy and bring them to boil.

~ Eggplant/ Bhaingan - Follow instruction as in for Bhindi.

~ Soy Chunks - Wash and soak soy chunks in hot water for 10 mintues. Squeeze out all the water. In a pan fry soy chunks, add gravy and bring them to boil.

Check out my previous blog hop entries…

This is off to Radhika’s blog hop event.

And also to Srav's Dish For Loved Ones