Of Travel and Curries

Passport & Plate - Chicken Malai Curry

India | Tuesday, March 3, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients
500 g boneless chicken (diced)
1 onion (finely chopped)
4-5 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
1 inch ginger (finely chopped)
2 dried red chilly
6-8 cashew nuts
2 tbs poppy seeds (soaked in warm water)
1 packet coconut milk
5 tbs yoghurt
1 tsp turmeric powder
1tsp red chilly powder
3 tbs vegetable oil
1 tsp ghee or clarified butter
Salt to taste
Coriander to garnish

 

How to prepare this recipe
Step 1: Marinate the diced chicken pieces with turmeric powder and salt for about 15 minutes.
Step 2: In a hot wok add 2 tbs oil. Fry the chicken pieces till it turns golden. Keep aside.
Step 3: Make a paste with the poppy seeds and cashew nuts.
Step 4: In the same wok, add the remaining oil and fry the finely chopped onion, garlic and ginger. Add one dried red chilly.
Step 5: Add the paste made with poppy seeds and cashew nuts and keep frying.
Step 6: Add the yoghurt to the paste and after 5 minutes, the packet of coconut milk. Add the dried chilly powder.
Step 7: Once the curry comes to a boil, add the fried chicken pieces and a pinch of salt.
Step 8: Lower the flame, almost to a simmer, and keep cooking the curry for 15 minutes.
Step 9: Just before taking it off the flame, add the ghee.
Step 10: Garnish with coriander and serve with hot rice or parathas.

 

The story behind this recipe
Living alone in New Delhi for almost four years now, I often crave home-cooked food. The love Bengalis (people from the state of West Bengal) have for their food is what legends are made of. They love their fish and prawn malai curry with piping hot rice is one of their favourites. Growing up, every Sunday would be reserved for special food and prawn malai curry often made it on the table. Prepared by my mother from the recipe which was handed down to her by my grandmother, the smells from the kitchen would tantalise our taste buds. I would often sneak into the kitchen to watch her make the delicious coconut-flavoured curry step by step. And when lunch time came, we would all be fighting over the last piece of prawn!
However, Delhi is a landlocked state with no sea in sight for miles. On a day when I was craving home-cooked food, instead of sullying the curry with frozen prawns, I decided to try using chicken because that protein is easily available. As I began cooking the curry, a wave of nostalgia engulfed me. The familiar smell of coconut, spices and home warmed my heart. Not only did the chicken malai curry turn out rich, creamy and delicious, but tasted similar to my mother's recipe despite having tweaked it considerably. When I called to tell her of the success, she was so proud. And just as my grandmother's recipe was handed down to me, if I am lucky enough to have a family, I would be proud to hand down this recipe to the next generation.