Mughlai Chicken Curry

Mughlai Chicken Curry

With big watery eyes, my Baby Boy looked at me last evening and complained that the Yoghurt and Almond Beef Curry was too spicy. And when I asked him this morning what he would like for dinner, he said, "chicken curry like P's". Sigh, I do not have boned chicken today so I decided to make a milder curry with the chicken breasts that I had in the fridge. For this reason tonight's dinner was Mughlai Chicken Curry, a curry rich in green cardamoms, cream and almonds.

Mughlai Chicken Curry :

600g Chicken breasts (largely cubed)

1 Tsp ground Turmeric

A few Saffron strands

2 Tbsp warm Milk

4 Tbsp Yoghurt

1 Onion (chopped)

3 Tsp Ginger-Garlic paste

1 Cinnamon stick

5 Green Cardamoms

1 Tsp ground Cumin

1 Tsp ground Coriander

1 Tsp ground red Chilli

4-5 Tbsp ground Almonds

1 Bay leaf

250ml Chicken stock

1 cup Yoghurt

150ml Crème fraîche

Salt to taste

2 Tsp ground Garam Masala

Sliced Almonds for garnishing

Infuse the warm milk with the saffron strands. Saffron is expensive so when making curries just for our own consumption, I use it with ground turmeric to give the chicken and curry a warm yellow colour. But saffron has its particular taste so try not to omit it. Mix the saffron milk with the yoghurt and marinate the chicken breasts with it for a few hours.

In a deep frying pan, heat up some vegetable oil or ghee and fry the marinated chicken pieces. Brown but do not overcook them. Remove and set aside.

In the same pan, lightly brown the onions, ginger-garlic paste, whole and ground spices.

Add the bay leaf and ground almonds.

Pour in the warm or hot chicken stock. Stir well, salt to taste and simmer the sauce for a few minutes.

Return the chicken to the sauce. Lightly whip the yoghurt and cream together to make it smooth and stir into the sauce. Simmer to let the flavours mix.

Just before serving, sprinke the garam masala over the dish and cover the pot. Turn of the heat.

A few minutes later, gently stir to mix the sauce. Garnish the curry with lightly toasted sliced almonds and serve hot with naans, basmati rice or chapatis. We ate ours with baguette and rice.

Baby Boy came to give his mummy a kiss and a hug at the end of his dinner. He has enjoyed his chicken curry.