An Invitation to Indian Cooking - Madhur Jaffrey [38]
Most Indian chicken recipes require the removal of the skin before the bird is cooked. My New York butcher shakes his head in despair every time I request this. To spare his feelings, I have now taken to doing the task myself. It is really quite easy and can be accomplished with a sharp, pointed knife and a bit of tugging in certain places.
Also, Indians generally cut their chicken into small pieces but rarely remove the bones. Legs are separated into drumsticks and thighs, breasts are cut into four or six pieces, backs into two or three, and wings into two. The reason is to allow the spices to penetrate the meat and bones as much as possible. I often serve just legs and breasts. They are easier to handle with knife and fork, and no one is stuck with the back. Backs and wings necessitate digital manipulation. They are to be avoided if you have finicky eaters.
While chicken is considered rather ordinary fare in this country, in India it is still regarded as an indulgence reserved for the rich. To be served chicken in someone’s house definitely means that you are getting special treatment. In restaurants it is always one of the more expensive items on the menu.
In my recipes you will notice that I often brown the chicken quickly before I leave it to cook. In India this browning is done either with the paste of onions, garlic, ginger, and spices or at the end, when the chicken is cooked and the sauce has been reduced over high heat. Since the bird cooks very quickly here, any attempt at browning during these two stages leaves my chicken a disintegrated, shattered mess. I have discovered that an initial browning of the chicken provides the right color and the bird does not fall apart.
Chicken cooked with yogurt
SERVES 4–6
Here is a simple chicken recipe using very few of the spices generally associated with Indian cuisine. Yet the dish is typically North Indian. It is easy to make and very popular with children and adults alike.
4 chicken legs
1 whole chicken breast
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
5 medium-sized onions
2 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
A piece of fresh ginger, about 1-inch cube, peeled and coarsely chopped
7 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
⅛–¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (as and if desired)
Skin all the chicken pieces. Divide each leg into 2 pieces (drumstick and thigh). Quarter the chicken breast. Pat dry the chicken pieces and set aside.
Put ½ cup yogurt in a bowl. Add ¾ cup water, a little at a time, beating with a fork as you do so.
Peel all the onions. Cut 4 in half, lengthwise, then slice them into half-rings, about ⅛ inch thick. Chop the other onion coarsely.
Put the chopped onion, garlic, and ginger in the container of an electric blender. Add 6 tablespoons of water and blend to a smooth paste.
Heat 5 tablespoons of the oil in a 10-inch pot over medium heat. Put in the sliced onions and fry them, stirring, 8 to 10 minutes or until they have turned dark brown at the edges but are still limp. Remove them with a slotted spoon to a small bowl and set aside.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pot and put in about 4 pieces of chicken at a time. Fry them, at medium-high heat, 7 to 8 minutes or until they are browned on all sides. Remove chicken pieces to plate with a slotted spoon.
Turn heat to low and pour paste from the blender into the pot, keeping your face averted. Scrape the bottom of the pot for browned meat juices and mix in scrapings with the paste. Now raise the heat to medium and fry, stirring, 4 to 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon plain yogurt, scraping bottom of pot and continuing to fry and stir another minute. Then add 1 more tablespoon yogurt, stirring for another minute.
Now put into the pot the chicken pieces, the well-blended yogurt and water mixture, the salt, and the cayenne pepper (if you desire it). Stir