Last year I won a fantastic giveaway on Instagram hosted by the sassy Lapetit Chef (Swayampurna). I was over the moon when I got her recipe book My Indian Kitchen as a prize 🤩 It has so many delicious recipes right from breakfast items to snacks to non-vegetarian main course to dessert! Needless to say, I have tried many recipes & everyone at home has loved them. One of the simplest yet delectable recipes from the book is that of this Bhuna Chicken Masala. It is very close to how I make a chicken side dish at home so this was the first one that I tried out 😀 It is easy, quick, has clean flavours & somehow reminds me of my childhood days. I have made a few changes here & there to suit how we like our chicken (read spicy).
Although the three of us are non-vegetarians, I cook meat only about once in 10 days or so. Whenever we eat out, it has to be non-veg food because S is extremely fond of chicken & cold-cuts 😁. Now that she’s fairly comfortable in the kitchen, she makes her own sandwiches with salami slices or whips up a Friday night pasta dinner for the three of us (yayy)! This weekend another one of Swayam’s recipes is slated to be baked in the kitchen 😉 Looking forward to many many more! If you still haven’t checked out her Instagram feed (how’s that even possible?!), then you must!
Bhuna Chicken Masala
Course: MainCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Medium4
servings15
minutes40
minutesA dry chicken dish made with a freshly ground masala, bhuna-oed to perfection!
Ingredients
Chicken (medium cut on the bone): 750gms
Garlic: 6 cloves; minced
Ginger: 2tbsp; minced
Green chilli: 3; finely chopped
Onions: 2 large; sliced
Tomatoes: 3; finely chopped
Turmeric: 1tsp
Red chilli powder: 1tsp
Jeera (cumin) powder: 2tsp
Coriander powder: 2tsp
Garam masala: 1tsp
Fresh coriander: A handful; chopped
Lemon juice
Water
Oil
Salt to taste
Directions
- Heat oil in a kadhai. Add the ginger, garlic & chilli and sauté for a minute. Now add the sliced onions & fry them for 3-4 minutes on medium flame.
- Once the onions become golden brown, add the turmeric, red chilli, jeera, dhaniya & garam masala powders. Cook for a minute.
- Now add the chopped tomatoes, some water & salt. Cook for 15 minutes till the masala becomes thick & the oil starts surfacing on the sides.
- Add the chicken & stir well to ensure that the masala coats the chicken evenly. Cook covered till the chicken turns tender & gets incorporated with the masala paste well. This will take about 15-20 minutes. Keep stirring in between.
- Once done, finish the dish with a squeeze of lemon & freshly chopped coriander leaves.
- Serve hot with phulkas or paranthas.
Notes
- You can use boneless chicken also for this recipe but I find that chicken on the bone adds more flavour to curries.
- Adjust the spice levels to suit your palate. We are spice lovers!
- Do not overcook the chicken. It becomes very rubbery & totally unappetising.