I bought a new cookbook. Pure India. I’m not sure if it’s sold in the US as well. It’s rare for me to buy a cook book—I prefer coming up with my own recipes—but with Indian food being pretty far outside my comfort zone, I figured I was better off starting with tried and true recipes.
The first thing I noticed was the sheer amount of onions used in Indian food. There are absolutely loads! Why didn’t anyone tell me this earlier? Gross neglect, guys! The second thing was the simplicity of the food photography. The same simple white bowl is used over and over again, only the background color changes. And then it hit me; the food looks so utterly delicious and colorful, it just doesn’t need props or any other type of adornment. That’s when I got really curious.
I tried this recipe and fell madly, passionately and head over heels in love with it. I did tweak it a little—can’t help myself, I’m a compulsive recipe tweaker.
Ingredients:
1 pound chicken fillet
2 tsp black pepper (freshly grinded)
thumb-size piece of ginger
1/2 a tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric
1/3 lemon
5 tbsp oil
3 medium onions
3 garlic cloves
1 cup water
salt
Directions:
The original recipe called for a cut up fryer. I opted for chicken fillets that I cut up in coarse pieces.
Grate or mash 3 medium sized garlic cloves and put them in a bowl.
Peel and grate a thumb-size piece of fresh ginger and add it to the garlic. Grating ginger is by far the best method for me, you don’t get those annoying stringy bits and it gets really mashed.
Add the salt, turmeric and 1 tsp black pepper. Squeeze in some lemon juice, about 1/3 of a lemon should do. Add 1 tbsp oil.
Combine all ingredients and there’s your marinade. Looks wicked, doesn’t it? Be careful not to spill any on your clothes, though.
Place the chicken pieces in a baking tray with non-poroush surface and mix them with the marinade. Now seriously, trust me when I say you don’t want to do this with your bare hands. Unless you want to walk around looking like a partial Oompa Loompa for the weeks to come.
Cover the chicken with plastic wrap and let it marinade for at least 2 hours.
>>Fast forward to 3 hours later<<
I’m using 3 medium-sized onions for this.
I coarsely cut up 2 onions and transfer them to my blender bowl where I use my immersion blender to puree them. You can also use your regular blender for this.
Cry me a river. Here’s what you’ll be needing to wipe the mascara off your chin. Unless you’re a man of course. But men use make up as well these days. I’m not sure how I’d feel about a man spending more time in the bathroom than I do. Or having to hide my expensive eye shadows from him. Hmmm.
Peel the other onion, cut it in half and slice it in rings. Or in quartered slices, as I like to do.
Heat 4 tbsp high heat cooking oil, such as peanut oil, and add 1 tsp pepper to the oil. Stir-fry the pepper for about 30 seconds. This smells fabulous. Add the onion slices and cook until the onion is soft.
Then add the onion puree and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Add your chicken pieces, combine everything and cook for another 5 minutes.
Pour in a cup of water, stir well and bring everything to a boil. Lower the heat and let the chicken simmer for 20 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
This was so good! It was a spicy dish but not in a real ‘fire shooting from your eyeballs’ kind of way. It was very flavorful and fragrant with a wonderful kick. You’re supposed to serve this with Naan bread, but we opted for rice and steamed green beans. I’m sorry, India, I just need my veggies.
Kay’s Recipe Card
Click here for printable size.
Tags: black pepper, chicken fillets, garlic, ginger, oil, onion, Peppery chicken curry, salt, turmeric
Hmm… I read blogs on a similar topic, but i never visited your blog. I added it to favorites and i’ll be your constant reader.
This looks delicious, Kay. The opening photo really draws you in. You are an amazing photographer and cook!
This looks like another winner! I love Indian food but get really bored with chicken tikka masala so I’ll definitely be trying this.
Looks Fabulous! Congrats..m sure India would be proud of you! :))
WOW Kay, that looks YUM. I totally need a new curry recipe to try out. I’m thinking of this weekend!
I have been wanting to try an Indian recipe … I may give it a whirl~ I so love your photography AND your recipe cards – they are the best!
Kay, cant tell you how honoured I am that you visited my blog – I am huge fan of your blog and your photography ! I have made your egg salad many times over…I do hope you find the ingredients you need for the aloo gobi …let me know if you try it…
@Arch:
One of the benefits of having a food blog is that via the comments I sometimes end up in the most amazing food blogs :)
I’m gonna try to assemble everything I need and will let you know!
Try using the edge of a spoon to scrape off the skin of the ginger. You don’t lose any of the “meat” that way. It’s a Martha Stewart trick.
@Diane:
Normally I keep these in the freezer, and that way you can even scrape off a thinner amount of skin, plut it’s even easier to grate. But I was in a hurry.
I adore curry, saffron, and turmeric is my latest discovery..as someone put it “the poor man’s saffron”. This looks like one my family would love as well. The problem with cooking is that I would eat a vastly larger array of food than my hubby or two teenage daughters. I have to cook around them. And HURRAY for recipe card! I love those; thanks!
Would you believe that I have never had Indian food? I always thought it was very hot and highly spicy. This just sounds delicious, not too spicy, and the combination of flavors…wow!
That looks like heaven!
Looks delicious and easy. Gonna try this out. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
You always post the most appetizing recipes!
Oh goodness, this looks so good! Good job on the photography.
Lovely! An Indian friend of ours gave us about 100 vegetarian, Indian recipes and everything I have made so far was incredibly yummy. The only thing I did was double the spices, for some reason it didn’t ask for as many spices as I would like.
One big advice I give you for Indian food: Get some Ghee and use it instead of oil. It’s much, much tastier. It makes the food so creamy! You can get it at the Natuurwinkel.
I just made butter after your recipe – and Oh My God!
This looks fantastic. And who doesn’t love ridiculous amounts of onions?! I may have to try this…TONIGHT!!
Thank You Kay!
i have noticed that you are quite inclined towards Indian way of cooking, you add beauty to a tasty dish.
hope to see more!
You know Kay that more than half of the Indian population is vegetarian ! you can find lot of cool veggie recipes and health lentil recipes. My favorite Indian chef is sanjeev kapoor, his recipes are sure shot! http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/
Love your recipes as well, waiting for some recipes using that delish caramel you made.
I’ve never tried chicken curry. Crazy, I know. I think I must try this recipe though!
Hello Kay,
What is the Dutch word for Turmeric, is it Koenjit? I have some Koenjit here at home, but it’s a lot darker than on your photos.
@Jaimé:
It’s indeed Koenjit, with Koenjit being the Indonesian name. Generally it’s called Kurkuma here. The color varies depending on where you buy it. If you buy those tiny Conimex bottles, for instance, it’ll be a different color than when you buy it ‘fresh’ on the market. Flavors are pretty much the same.
YUM YUM!!!!! I’ve been looking for a great new Indian cookbook!
I’m the same way about Indian cooking, definitely out of my comfort zone and yet it’s something I want to do more of. This sounds like a wonderful dish.
Actually, I usually struggle to cook Indian food.
You seem to have done an amazing job with your dish. Thanks for sharing!
An absolutely pretty dish! Bookmarked!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,!
Looks delicious.. Anyways, it not a rule to serve chicken with naan, and we usually have 1 lentil dish and 1 vegetable side dish for the vegetarians on the table… With both Rice and breads and one curd preparation.. Phew!! We, Indians like our food full of royal splendor.. :D
I hope you try and prepare more Indian food and treat your taste buds.. :)
@ruSh.Me:
Glad to hear that because I need vegetables. Lots of them :)
I am also quite unfamiliar with Indian cuisine, but it is definitely something I would like to learn more about. I look forward to making this recipe and embarking on a journey to learn more about this spectacular cuisine.
That looks nice and spicy!! who wrote the book “Pure India”? I googled it, but didn’t get a lead.
Sebastian
I made this last night, minus the onions [family hates onions :( ] It was really yummy. I changed one thing though, by accident not on purpose. I used limes instead of lemons. I had them both on the counter and grabbed a lime instead of a lemon when I was mixing the marinade. It was still yummy though. ;)
@Tya:
I found out, the 4th time I made it, it also works when you use viegar :)
That is the most beautiful curry I’ve ever seen! Excellent cooking and photography as always. What’s your light source, a small lamp to the left with a CFL bulb? I need to work on my set up when using mine. Even with a diffuser, my light is too harsh.
@Chris:
I only shoot with natural light. So I shoot right next to a window and let the light come in from the left.
Hi Kay,
I love your blog! Great sense of humour, easy to follow explanations, AMAZING photos and the printable Recipe Card is just genius. I will be coming back often and i cant wait to try some of these mouth watering recipes myself.
That is one tasty looking chicken curry!
@Sebastian: It’s original title is Indian Essence and it’s by .Atul Kochhar.
Kay: je kip staat hier morgen op het menu! Ik ben heel benieuwd.
I’ve just made this for dinner and GOD, IT DOES TASTE GOOOOD.
Next time, I’ll try some orange peels too.
Kay, why cry a river due to those onions?
Put them in a plastic bag, close the bag well, and put the onions
in the fridge a few hours (or a day) before using them.
The cold “tames” the volatility of the aggressive vapors.
It also helps if you have a good ventilation going in the kitchen,
and can position yourself up-stream from the onions.
Mag ik zeggen, dat je een heelijke site hebt?
Ciao!
Remo
Milano, Italy
We just returned from our honeymoon (in India! and Istanbul and Paris too, but mostly India!) and we’re already going through Indian food withdrawal. I was so excited to see this recipe! This meal is definitely one we’re going to try very very soon! :)
I made this with sweet potatoes, green beans and garbanzo beans. Delicious! Thank you for a great recipe!
Great recipe! I am glad I overcame by natural instinct to use more spices (cumin, coriander Etc.) The simplicity of this dish was it’s beauty. Thanks for this wonderful addition to my repertoire!
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