​Chicken Cumin Curry – Chicken Zeera Dopiaza

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Wash and drain chicken
2. Stir/whip yoghurt & turmeric with 2-4 tbsp water, set aside
3. Make a paste with chili powder/paprika and water.
4. In a medium sized cooking pot heat oil on medium heat for about a minute, but don’t let it sizzle. Add whole cumin and whole dried red chilies, gently moving the pot from side to side, for about 2-3 minutes, until they release their flavours. Turn heat to low.
5. Add sliced onions and salt (helps caramelize onions). Turn heat to medium and keep stirring. Fry onions well, until they turn a warm brown and are nearly crispy. This is the tricky part: to get the onions nicely brown to give both colour and flavour, without burning them.
6. Add ground onion, garlic, and ginger paste. Keep stirring, and when the paste gets a little dry, drizzle yoghurt mixed with turmeric, and cook for 10-15 minutes. Add small quantities of boiling water as needed so that the sauce cooks but does not burn. Your sauce looks very dull right now, but don’t worry! You need to oxidize the spices, onions, and yoghurt into a flavourful base. Turn heat to low for 2 -3 minutes and the sauce should glisten a little.
7. Add chicken, stir well and keep turning, on medium heat for 15 – 20 minutes. The chicken should shrink a little. Brown it well! This is an important step!
8. Turn the heat to low, add chilly paste and turn well, then add about 1 cup boiling water, or enough to just cover the chicken.
9. Cover and simmer on low heat, if possible on a griddle, until the chicken pieces are tender and the sauce is thick. Sprinkle ground cumin on top and you’re good to go!

INGREDIENTS:

• 800 grams chicken legs & thighs, no skin, bone-in; cut into 2”/5.5 cm pieces. You can substitute with boneless chicken.
• 6 tbsp or less than ½ cup cooking oil (eg. Canola Oil)
• 1 cup finely sliced onions
• 1 cup ground onion
• ½ cup plain yoghurt unstirred
• 1 tsp heaped whole cumin
• 2 whole dried Kashmiri chilies (optional)
• ½ level tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp garlic paste
• 2 tbs ginger paste
• 2 level tsp red chili powder/paprika for less heat
• 1 ¼ tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1 tsp heaped ground cumin
• 2 cups boiling water or as needed

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