Ginger Flavored Chicken Curry

Do you face cravings??? Like real craving like craving??? Like when you really had to have that....or else life will appear meaningless, and nothing...I mean literally nothing matters other than that....on that particular moment??? Do any of you face cravings like that???

Well...yesterday I had something like that. I craved for chocolates...not the sweet ones, but the bitter - sweet chocolate with a pungent aroma of cocoa....I craved for that yesterday. But I did not have any, as I had stopped stacking chocolates since I have undertaken  diet. So I called hubby and told him to buy an enormous bar of chocolate on his way home. But that is way too long to wait. I needed that, then and there, and at that very moment to satisfy my lust. So I walked a little in my room, with haste and confusion...should I wait or should I head towards the supermarket???  And voila!!!! Then I remembered nutella!!! My sweet chocolate and hazelnut spread!!

I rushed to the kitchen, took the jar, and scooped out a big spoon of nutella. And as I put that enormous dollop inside my mouth and as they melted under my tongue and some of it oozed out of the corner of my lips....only one word could truly describe my satisfaction!! Heavenly!!! So I forgot about my diet for the moment, licked clean the jar of nutella and went back to my normal self again.

As for the recipe today I am sharing a very simple chicken curry, of which most of the Bengali are aware of. My mother used  to make this and my mother in law also makes this curry. Most of the time Bengalis do not add tomatoes in cooking chicken curry. And with this when you add minimal flavor, this dish turns out fantastic. The simplicity of this dish is its specialty. The beautiful flavor of ginger is the star attraction. And we achieve this by avoiding heavy spices and tomatoes.

Ginger Flavored Chicken Curry
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 chickens legs and 4 chicken thighs / 1 kg chicken cut into big chunks of pieces
• 2 medium onions - sliced
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 4 tbsp of ginger - paste (you will need a lot of ginger to make 4 tbsp ginger paste. I needed almost 2 big whole pieces of ginger to make that amount.)
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 large bay leaf
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp red chili powder / green chili paste (if you prefer a milder flavor just reduce the amount of chili powder / paste)
• 1 small bunch of fresh coriander leaves - chopped
• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 small potato - cut into halves

Method: 

• Heat oil in a pan / kadai and add the cumin seeds and bay leaf.
• When they start spluttering add the sliced onions and cook till they are nice and brown.
• Now add the garlic paste and half of the ginger paste.
• Sauté till the raw flavor of the garlic is gone.
• Now add the chicken pieces, salt, turmeric powder, coriander powder and red chili powder / green chili paste.
• Mix everything and put on the lid, so that the chicken can cook in its own juices.
• After 2-3 minutes, open the lid and change the sides of the chicken legs / pieces so that they can become brown from both the sides.
• Add the halved potatoes. Mix well.
• Add some water if you see the curry has become too dry. Mix well and put cover again. Never add too much water in one time. The amount of water should be enough to prevent the chicken and masals to stick to the bottom of the pan.
• Cover and cook in this way until the chicken is done. Do not leave the chicken alone for a long time. Stir and add water accordingly.
• When the chicken is cooked properly from inside, add the rest of the ginger paste.
• Mix again and simmer until the curry reaches your desired consistency. I prefer a thick gravy so I kind of dry out all the water in it. You will know your gravy is done when the gravy starts to ooze out oil from it.
• Add chopped coriander leaves and put cover.
• Serve with steaming hot rice or plain roti / chapati / naan. It goes well with everything.