Lonumedhu Special Chicken

We eat chicken all the time. But for Eid and other such special occasions, we need a chicken that’s really special. With that in mind we’ve created a really delicious chicken curry, especially for the upcoming Fitr Eid of 2018.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 6 tbsp. whole coriander seeds
• 1 ½ tsp. whole black peppercorns
• 8 cardamom pods
• 5 inch piece of cinnamon
• 3 tbsp. whole fennel seeds
• 14 dried red chillies
• 2 tbsp. whole cumin seeds
• 3 onions
• 2 garlic cloves
• 8 curry leaves
• 2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
• 6 tbsp. water
• 6 inch piece of Raanbaa
• 900 grams curry cut chicken (remove the skin before cooking)
• 3 tbsp. oil
• ¾ cup raw cashew nuts
• ¾ cup raisins

Instructions:

1. Heat a large pan and once you are sure that it’s heated add the coriander, black peppercorns, seeds from the cardamom pods and cinnamon stick. Keep the heat on medium and use a spatula to redistribute the contents in the pan to prevent burning. Toast the mixture until the coriander begins to take a slight brownish colour.
2. Add the fennel and dried chillies. Toast them until the fennel takes on a brownish tint, and then add the cumin and cook for another 30 seconds.
3. Allow the mixture to cool down a bit and transfer it to the grinding attachment of your mixture. Grind until it becomes a smooth powder.
4. Roughly chop 1 ½ onions and the 2 garlic cloves and add this to the contents in the grinder along with 4 curry leaves, salt and water.
5. Run the mixer until you get a smooth paste.
6. Rub the paste on the chicken, and leave to marinate while you get the other ingredients of this recipe ready.
7. Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a frying pan and once the oil is well heated add the cashew nuts and cook until they begin to take on a brownish colour. Cashew nuts cook quickly, so keep an eye on it and stir frequently. Once cooked, remove from pan and set aside.
8. Slice the remaining onion.
9. Heat the remaining oil in a large pot, and once the oil is heated add the sliced onions, raanbaa and remaining curry leaves. Stir and cook until the onions begin to take a brownish colour.
10. Add the chicken to the pot, stir to combine with the onions, put the lid on, turn the heat to low and let it cook for 20 minutes. We didn’t add any additional water or liquids as the chicken produces enough juices to make a thick gravy. But if you find yours to be too dry, you can definitely add some water, a little at a time until you reach the desired consistency and then adjust salt.
11. Add the raisins and cashew nuts, stir to combine and let the mixture cook for an additional 10 minutes.