Chicken Curry with Potatoes in an Onion and Tomato Gravy

Chicken Do Piaza

Can you believe chicken with just a few ingredients can be so delectable? The main ingredients in this dish are chicken, potatoes, onion and tomato paste. I like using boneless, skinless chicken thighs in this dish, but use your choice of chicken pieces. Bone-in chicken thighs & legs work well too. 'Do Piaza' means 'onion two ways' which refers to the puréed onions used in the beginning of the cooking process and the fried onions that are added at the end as a garnish. If time is an issue, instead of blanching the onion and blending with ginger and garlic, the onion could be finely diced and the ginger & garlic grated, then mixed together with the tomato paste.

Ingredients

1 lb. chicken, cut in bite-size pieces

1 russet potato, peeled & cut in bite-size pieces

1 large onion, peeled & sliced

1 large onion, peeled & quartered

6 cloves garlic, peeled & cut in half

2” piece ginger, peeled and chopped

1 tsp. Hunt’s tomato paste

2 cinnamon sticks

4 whole cloves

4 green cardamoms

2 whole star anise

½ tsp. coriander powder

¼ tsp. cumin powder

1 tsp. chili + paprika powder, to taste

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1 cup hot chicken broth

1 + 2 + 4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 Tbsp. ghee or melted butter

Salt to taste

Directions

1.    Blanch peeled and quartered onions in a cup of water and drain, setting water aside.

2.    Blend onions, garlic, ginger, tomato paste & 1 Tbsp. oil to a thick paste.

3.    Mix chicken with the puréed onion mixture and set aside to marinate for ½ hour.

4.    Heat 2 Tbsp. oil over medium-high heat, fry sliced onions to a golden-brown crisp, drain on paper towels & set aside.

5.    In the same pan, heat remaining oil & fry cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms & star anise for 1 minute.

6.    Add coriander, cumin, chili/paprika & pepper powders and stir-fry for 2 minutes.

7.    Stir in potatoes, salt to taste and reserved water from blanched onions, cover & simmer on medium until oil resurfaces.

8.    Add marinated chicken along with all the marinade, bring to a boil, cover & simmer on medium-low heat for 15 minutes.

9.    Add hot chicken broth, stir & adjust salt to taste.

10. Cover & simmer until chicken is tender and potatoes are cooked, about 10 minutes

11. Add fried onions, stir well, garnish with ghee/butter and transfer to a serving dish.

Serve hot with steamed Basmati rice or tortillas.