Homestyle Chicken Salan (Chicken Curry)

 

Ingredients

• 1.5-2 lb bone in chicken (or 1.5 lb boneless)
• ⅓ cup oil
• 1 small piece cinnamon stick
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 5-6 whole black peppers
• 2-3 laung (cloves)
• 3 diced onions approx 350g
• 2 diced tomatoes between 210-220g
• 1.5 tsp garlic paste
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 ¼ tsp salt
• ¾ tsp red chili powder
• ½ tsp kashmiri laal mirch (optional, but gives great colour and a mild spice)
• 1 ½ tsp coriander powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder

Finishing touches

• ½ tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• chopped cilantro
• 2-3 sliced green chilies

Instructions

• Heat your oil in a large pot on medium high heat
• When it shimmers then add the whole spices i.e cinnamon, cumin seeds, cloves, and whole black peppers.
• After the cumin seeds start to sizzle and smell delicious then add the onions
• When the edges of the onion turn golden then add the garlic paste and ginger paste and sauté for 30 seconds.
• Now stir in your tomatoes and spices. Cover the pot and turn the heat down a little to medium heat for 2-3 minutes - this speeds up the process of cooking the masala.
• Turn the heat back up, remove the lid and sauté the spice mix until the oil rises above the top.
• Use an immersion blender to make the salan into a mostly smooth paste, you will need to tilt the pot to make this happen.
• Add your chicken pieces to your pot stirring periodically until all of the chicken turns white/opaque
• Now add ½ cup of water to your pot if the masala seems very bring to a boil and simmer on low until the chicken is cooked through, 15-20 minutes.
• Adjust the consistency of the salan to your liking, add the garam masala powder and cumin powder, then adjust seasoning.
• Garnish with cilantro and green chilies and serve.

Notes

If you want to avoid the blender and take a more traditional route then add 1.5 of hot water to the pot, bring to a boil, simmer on low for 20 minutes. Crank up the heat and dry up the masala before adding your chicken in.

For boneless chicken you will need to cook the chicken for approximately 30-40 minutes to take it to the point where it's tender.