Khara Chicken

Aditya Bal sets up his kitchen in Pune and whips up a mouth watering chicken curry with copra and charred onions.

For the curry:

4 tsp refined oil

1 stick cinnamon

6-7 green cardamom

2 tsp shahi zeera

4 cloves

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 onions, chopped

Salt, to taste

2 Tbsp paste (ginger, garlic, green chilli and coriander leaves)

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 1/2 tsp dhaniya powder

7-8 chicken leg and thigh pieces

1 1/2 cup water

3 tsp onion-copra paste

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Coriander leaves, to garnish

For the paste:

1 cup grated copra

2 tsp oil
1 onion, charred (Cook the whole onion with the skin on an open flame till the outer cover starts to blacken)

Water
Method

For the paste:

Dry roast the grated copra. Keep aside.

In a pan add oil and saute sliced charred onions. Combine with the dry roasted copra and in a grinder make a fine paste. Add some water to help in making the paste.

For the curry:

In a wok add oil, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, shahi zeera. Saute.

Add turmeric and let it roast for 30 seconds. Add onions. Saute till pink and then add salt.

Add red chilli powder, ginger-garlic-chilli paste, dhaniya powder. Cook and add 1/2 cup water.

Now add the chicken pices. Cook for 5 minutes so that all the masalas are well infused with the chicken.

Add 1 cup water. Mix. cover the wok and let the chicken cook on low heat for 15 minutes.

Now add the onion-copra paste, lemon juice. Mix and cook till the chicken is well done.

Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve.