Bangla Chicken Curry

I had no idea what to cook for the weekend. Then out of the blue an ex-classmate posted his recipe on our whatsapp group.

Photo credit : Jalil

I was in the office at the time and looking at my friend's chicken curry, my stomach growled. Loudly (I purposely skipped breakfast in anticipation of my lunch at Serai but I ended up in Ante instead).

Photo credit : Jalil

How could you resist that? Get me a plate of hot steaming rice and I will dig right in! 

I had all the ingredients in my kitchen except for curry powder. But that was not a problem. I was going to the supermarket the next day and I could easily grab a packet.

On Sunday, besides my usual groceries, I picked up a packet of curry powder and ready-cut chicken. When I got home, I worked on the curry immediately. Talk about enthusiasm. 

The spice paste ingredients are made of shallots, garlic and ginger which I pounded into a paste.

This was then sauteed until fragrant before I added a cinnamon stick, cloves and star anise. I also took the liberty of adding curry leaves since I had plenty in the garden.

Then I added the curry powder (which I made into a paste by adding some water) and turmeric powder. I continued to saute for a while before adding the chicken pieces. I stirred the whole lot until the chicken was coated with the spice paste. Then I added some water, lowered the heat and left the chicken to simmer (covered).

Every now and then, I checked to make sure there was enough moisture and I stirred the chicken to make sure it did not burn. 

When the chicken was almost cooked, I continued to simmer the curry uncovered until the gravy became thick and almost dry. I added salt to taste and a dash of garam masala for added flavor.

I love this dry chicken curry! The flavors were popping the way a good curry should. It smelled good, it tasted great and I was so happy that I now I have a recipe for such a delicious dry-style chicken curry. Thank you, my friend!

If you prefer your curry with more gravy, by all means add a bit more water. But make sure that you add more spice paste and curry powder to ensure that your curry is not diluted. Potatoes would be a welcome addition to this curry (why not, right?) but I did not add any because I am currently keeping my carbohydrate intake in check.

This was how I enjoyed the chicken curry, with coleslaw, no rice. You know what? I think I can add this to my Chinese New Year reunion menu and I am pretty sure there will be no objections from the clan.

Bangla Chicken Curry

Recipe source : Adapted from my friend Jalil

Ingredients :

- Chopped chicken pieces (weight approximately 1 kg)

- 15 shallots

- 4 cloves garlic

- 1 thumb sized ginger

- 1 cinnamon stick

- 5 cloves

- 2 star anise

- 2 sprigs curry leaves

- 1 packet meat curry powder (25g)

- 1 tsp turmeric powder

- 1/2 tsp garam masala (optional)

- salt to taste

- some water for simmering

Method :

1. Pound shallots, garlic and ginger to make a paste.

2. Mix curry powder with some water to form a paste.

3. Heat oil in pan and saute the shallots, garlic and ginger paste until fragrant.

4. Add cinnamon stick, cloves, star anise and curry leaves. Saute for a short while until fragrant.

5. Add curry paste and turmeric powder. Continue to saute until oil rises to the top.

6. Add chicken and stir the whole lot until chicken is coated with curry paste.

7. Add some water (not too much!) and simmer the chicken (covered) over low flame.

8. When chicken is almost cooked, continue to simmer, uncovered until gravy is thick and almost dry. 

9. Add salt to taste and garam masala. Stir to combine.

10. Serve hot!