Rara Chicken Curry

Any dish made with chicken is a hit in my house. This recipe I learnt from a cookery show in TV, hosted by Lekshmi Nair of Magic oven fame.  So I simply noted down the method and tried it once. The preparation of this recipe is a long process. I made it slowly and at last this dish came out excellent. Whenever there is a get together in my house, I would make this dish and its a hit among my relatives and friends.

This is a Punjabi dish. “rara” means dry, so this dish is a dry dish. Most of you might know about this dish. This is a good combination with chapathis, fried rice and so on.

Ingredients:

1. Chicken- 1kg
2. Salt- as per taste

Step1:

1. Onions- 2nos
2. Green chillies- 3nos
3. Ginger (grated) – 1tsp
4. Garlic (chopped) -1 ½ tsp
5. Turmeric powder- 1tsp
6. Red chilli powder- 2tsp
7. Coriander powder- 1tsp
8. Tomatoes- 1 ½ nos
9. Water- ¼ cup

Step-2:

1. Ginger- 2tbsp
2. Garlic (chopped) - 10-13cloves
3. Green chillies- 3nos
4. Onions- 1no
5. Oil- 3-4tbsp

Step-3:

1. Kashmiri chilli powder- 2tbsp
2. Kasuri methi / Dried fenugreek leaves (crushed) – 2tbsp
3. Jeera powder- 1tsp
4. Garam masala powder- 2tsp
5. Tomatoes- 1no

Step-4: (optional)

1. Cashew paste- 2-3tbsp
2. Coriander leaves- to garnish

Method:

1. In a bowl take ingredients listed in step 1 and mix well. Let it cook slowly on a medium flame till all the ingredients become soft. Keep it aside to cool.
2. Grind the above mixture to a paste.
3. Heat a kadai on stove and add the chicken pieces, the ground paste, salt and little water. Keep the lid till the chicken gets cooked well.
4. Meanwhile, heat a kadai and fry the step 2 ingredients in the oil. First fry the ginger, garlic and green chillies and keep it aside. Then fry the onions till it is golden brown in colour. The onions are fried later because they get fried quickly.
5. Keep these fried ingredients separately in a bowl.
6. In the same kadai if you want, add more oil as we need and add the step 3 ingredients one by one. At last, add the cooked chicken along with gravy and mix well. Stir well till everything is blended with the chicken.
7. Add the fried green chillies, garlic, ginger and onions. Mix well.
8. Now add the cashew paste and coriander leaves if you want.
9. Serve hot with rotis or fried rice.