Wash the chicken pieces thoroughly & pat dry using a paper towel. Once
dried, rub the 1 ts oil & 1-1/2 ts salt over the pieces. Set aside
for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, on low heat, roast all the whole
spices (except turmeric, nutmeg & salt) until you smell the aroma.
About 5 minutes. Let the roasted spices cool down a bit. Once cooled,
tip into your coffee grinder or using mortar & pestle, coarsely grind
the spices. Add turmeric, ground nutmeg & salt to the ground spices
to make a mix.
Lay the chicken pieces in a single layer and thoroughly rub half the
amount of spice mix all over. Let sit for another 5 minutes. Mix the
rest of the spice mix with beaten yogurt & set aside.
Meanwhile, heat a grill pan or a normal pan to smoking hot. Once hot,
brush some oil on the pan and layer the chicken pieces on the pan.
Here, the idea is just to sear the flesh of the chicken, not cook it.
You can even do it in the same pot in which you want to cook the
sauce. I prefer a wide open pan for the sake of searing all piece in
one go & easier flipping. Let sear for about 5 minutes on each side.
Once seared, remove from heat. Reserve the drippings if any.
Note: You can use your outdoor grill too for this purpose.
While the chicken is being seared, heat oil in a heavy bottomed pot
with lid on medium heat, or use your slow cooker for this purpose.
Once the oil is smoking, lower the heat & add the chopped onions to
the pot. Cook the onions until golden brown, about 8 minutes.
Next, add the grated ginger & garlic to the pot along with bay leaves
and cinnamon stick. Cook for 1 minute more. Let the heat be on low.
Add the spice mixed yogurt to the pot next and combine well with
onions. Cook for 2 minutes with constant stirring to avoid curdling
of the yogurt. You will slowly see yogurt releasing water.
Tip:
Whenever adding yogurt to hot pot, ensure that the stove is on the
lowest mark.
Add the seared chicken pieces to the pot next, pep up the heat to
medium and cook the chicken pieces for 5 minutes. Check the salt now
(remember we rubbed chicken with salt earlier) and adjust if
required. Also, add the drippings (if any) from the grill pan to the
pot. Again, reduce the heat to lowest possible on your stove, cover
the pot and let the chicken cook to fully done. About 25 to 30
minutes. Avoid adding any water to the pot. As the chicken will cook,
it will release its own juices which are enough to cook it.
You will need to stir in between once or twice. Avoid adding any
water to the pot. Once the chicken is cooked, remove from heat and
let sit covered for another 10 minutes.
Garnish with cilantro & sliced chillies.
Serve warm with chapatis, naan (flatbreads), or cumin rice.
