Lemon Cardamom Rice and Balti Chicken

Are you thinking of having an Indian dinner tonight, or maybe sometime this week? Here's something for you to try out.  Simple and delicious! The rice really complements well with this chicken dish. It was originally meant to go with a vegetable curry dish, but felt like having some chicken for dinner, and Balti Chicken sounds great! 

This is a fairly dry dish, but from the photo in the book, it looks like it has more gravy! I would probably add on another half of all the spices for more gravy the next time I cook this. Overall, this is a really delicious dish and worth cooking again.

The rice is lightly fragrant with the wonderful aroma of the cardamom pods and the lemon grass. Really pairs well with Balti Chicken. Even though the recipe calls for jasmine rice, I think that it would be great with Basmati rice, just remember to soak the rice for about 20 minutes before cooking.

Lemon Cardamom Rice

(adapted from "500 Curries" by Mridula Baljekar)

1-1/4 cups fragrant jasmine rice

6 cardamom pods, bruised

1 lemon grass stalk, outer leaves removed, cut into 3 sections

2 cups water

1. Put the rice, cardamom pods, lemon grass and water in a pan. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover, and cook for 10-15 minutes. Remove the cardamom and lemon grass.

(I just put everything in the rice cooker! Remove the cardamom pods and lemon grass before serving. It's that easy!)

Balti Chicken
(adapted from "500 Curries" by Mridula Baljekar)
Serves 4-6
1-1.3kg chicken, skinned and cut into 8 pieces, or serving size
3 tbsp corn oil
3 medium onions, sliced
3 medium tomatoes, halved and sliced
2.5cm cinnamon stick
2 large black cardamom pods
4 black peppercorns
1-1/2 tsp black cumin seeds
1 tsp crushed fresh root ginger
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp natural plain yoghurt
4 tbsp lemon juice (I use 1 tbsp)
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
2 fresh green chillies, chopped

1. Wash and trim the chicken pieces, and set to one side.
2. Heat the oil in a large wok or deep frying pan. Add the onions and fry until they are golden brown. Add the tomatoes and stir well.
3. Add the cinnamon stick, cardamoms, peppercorns, black cumin seeds, ginger, garlic, garam masala, chili powder and salt. Lower the heat and stir-fry for 3-5 minutes.
4. Add the chicken pieces two at a time, and stir-fry for at least 7 minutes, until the spice mixture has penetrated the chicken. Add the yoghurt to the pan and mix well.
5. Lower the heat and cover the pan with a piece of foil (a wok cover will do just fine, or use a saucepan with a lid). Cook gently for about 15 minutes, checking to make sure the sauce is not sticking. Finally, stir in the lemon juice, fresh coriander and green chillies, and serve immediately.

Enjoy!