Kadhai Murgh

This delicious Indian dish is really good. A word of caution, if you are serving this with plain white rice, make sure you cook plenty of rice. You would want to have a second helping!

I love spicy Indian food. I bought some spices from an Indian store, and couldn't wait to try out more Indian curries from a few of my books. The store that I went to, is fantastic, they have all the spices which I have been looking for ages that I could not find anywhere else. It is like walking into a goldmine!  There will definitely be a lot of curry recipes coming! 

I found out about this store from one of my Indian cooking books, right at the top right of the last page. I did a search from the web, and was really excited that they have all the spices that I was looking for! Bingo!  Felt like I have hit the jackpot (not that I have before!). Felt so silly, as did not notice this all along, instead, went everywhere to look for the spices!

This dish is a little sour, salty and hot. I omitted the pounded red chili as I'm afraid it might be too hot for my kids. One of the ingredients is pounded black pepper, which I added half a teaspoon more. The flavours from the black pepper is really wonderful. If you do not like a spicy curry, you can omit the chili. Or if you are like me, who loves fiery hot stuff, then, by all means, add the chili!  According to the chef, this dish is popular in Lahore, Pakistan.

The name of Kadhai Murgh sounds really nice. Kadhai means 'wok' or 'vessel', and Murgh means 'chicken'. 

I couldn't wait to try other Murgh recipes and other curries like legumes and vegetables! Give this a try, you'll love it!

"Passage Thru' India" is a well-know Indian restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, that has won numerous awards. This book is a collection of some of the best Indian dishes served at the restaurant. Chef PS Kadam, who has been in this restaurant since 1996, has simplified the methods for use in home-cooking.

I'm linking this post with Copycat Club at Buttercream Barbie

Kadhai Murgh
(adapted from "Passage Thru' India" by Chef PS Kadam)
Serves : 4
Preparation Time : 35 minutes
Cooking Time : 30 minutes

Ingredients :
500gm chicken
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 pinch turmeric powder
salt to taste
100 ml cooking oil
1 pinch / 5 gm cumin (jeera) seeds
20gm / 2 tsp ginger and garlic, chopped
10gm / 2 green chilles, chopped
400gm / 4 tomatoes, chopped
1 cup water
1 tbsp / 1 red chilli, pounded
1 tsp / 5gm black pepper, pounded
1 tbsp / 10gm coriander seeds, pounded
50 gm / 1 capsicum, cut lengthwise
1 pinch garam masala powder
1 tsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
2 tbsp coriander leaves

Method :

1. Clean chicken and remove the skin. Cut into cubes of equal size and marinate with 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste, 1 pinch tumeric powder and salt for 30 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a kadhai (wok). Saute cumin, chopped ginger, garlic and green chillies for 10 seconds.
3. Stir in 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste and saute for 30 seconds.
4. Put in chopped tomatoes and keep stirring till tomatoes are mashed.
5. Add chicken cubes and stir occasionally. Pour in some water and simmer on low flame.
6. When the chicken is almost done, add the pounded spices and capsicum, masala powder, kasoori methi, coriander leaves and salt.
7. Cook till chicken becomes tender and gravy thick. Sprinkle water and stir. Adjust the seasoning. The gravy should be thick, the taste hot and sour, and the colour orange red.
8. Remove from heat and put in a serving dish. Garnish with green coriander, ginger and tomato slices. Serve with chapatti, naan, roti or biryani rice.