MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

     Title: Everyday Chicken Curry
Categories: Chicken, Indian
     Yield: 1 Batch

 1 1/4 lb Chicken; bone-in, dark meat,
          - de-skinned
     4 tb Mustard oil or vegetable oil
     1    Bay leaf
     1 c  Red onions; thin sliced
     2 md Roma tomatoes; roughly diced
     3 tb Plain yogurt
     3 cl Garlic
     1    Fresh ginger thumb (1")
   1/2 ts Turmeric powder
          Salt; to taste
     1 c  Water; approximate,
          - depending on the
          - consistency of gravy you
          - want
          Cilantro; chopped,
          - for garnish

MMMMM--------------------------MARINADE-------------------------------
 1 1/2 ts Coriander seeds
   3/4 ts Black peppercorns
     3    Cloves
     2    Whole green cardamom
   1/2 ts Cumin seeds
     1    Mace twig
     1    Cinnamon stick (1")
     5    Whole dry red chillies;
          - adjust to tolerance
     2 ts Kashmiri chilli powder; this
          - lends the beautiful red
          - color, not the heat
   1/2 ts Turmeric powder
   1/2 ts Salt
   1/4 c  Water

 Notes: In the spices for marinade above, you can substitute whole
 seeds with lightly dry roasted coriander, black pepper, cayenne,
 paprika, cardamom powder.

 Wash the chicken pieces thoroughly & pat dry using a paper towel. Set
 aside.

 In a small sauce pan, on low heat,dry roast all the whole spices for
 marinade (except turmeric, kashmiri chilli powder & salt) until you
 smell the aroma, about 3 to 4 minutes. Let the roasted spices cool
 down a bit. Once cooled, tip into your coffee grinder or using mortar
 & pestle, grind the spices. You don't want them to be powdery. Add
 turmeric, kashmiri chilli & salt to the ground spices. Mix this with
 1/4 cup of water in a small bowl to make the marinade.

 In a Ziploc bag or a bowl, place the cleaned chicken along with the
 marinade and rub a little so that all the pieces are covered in the
 marinade. Set aside for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight in
 the refrigerator to marinate.

 Take out the marinated chicken from the refrigerator at least 30
 minutes prior to cooking. Once ready to cook, heat up oil in a heavy
 bottomed pot on medium heat. Once the oil is just smoking, lower the
 heat & add the chopped onions to the pot. Add the bay leaf too. Cook
 the onions until golden brown. About 8 minutes.

 Meanwhile, add the tomatoes, yogurt, garlic, ginger to your food
 processor and pulse to a smooth mixture. Once the onions have
 browned, reduce the flame to low and add the tomato-yogurt mix to the
 pot, stir to combine well with onions. Also add the 1/2 ts turmeric
 powder. Cook on low-medium heat with constant stirring to avoid
 curdling of the yogurt. Initially, you will see yogurt releasing
 water, but that's okay. Increase the heat to medium and keep on
 stirring until you see oil separating on the sides of the pot.

 Add the marinated chicken to the pot next. Add salt to taste. Keep on
 stirring around the chicken pieces so that they do not stick to the
 bottom of the pan. They will slowly start releasing their juices.
 Keep on turning around and cooking the chicken pieces on medium heat
 for good 20 to 25 minutes or until they are 95% cooked. Add water to
 the pot now depending on the desired consistency of the gravy check
 the salt again cover the pot with a lid and cook the curry for
 another 10 minutes or so until the chicken is completely cooked. You
 will need to stir in between once or twice.

 Once the curry is cooked, remove from heat and let sit covered for at
 least 45 minutes to 1 hour before serving.

 Garnish with cilantro & serve warm. Whether you serve with flatbread
 or rice, I highly recommend making kachumber (indian salsa) alongside.

 Recipe by Sanjuro

 Recipe FROM: <gopher://sdf.org/0/users/sanjuro/indian-food/
 everyday-chicken-curry.txt>

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