C44 Chicken Elaichi (Cardamom)

This was inspired by a recipe by Reza Mahammad from Sky's Food Network programme "Reza, Spice Prince of India", but adapted to a BIR (British Indian Restaurant) style of cooking with a few changes. It is a Rajasthani style dish (from Ajmer in central Rajasthan) and uses cardamom (elaichi) which is a very fragrant spice. The use of fresh and powdered chillies and, optionally, cream produces an indulgent curry with a spicy kick.

Ingredients

For 1	Continued...
1 tbspn oil	¼ tspn turmeric
3 green cardamom pods (See note 1)	¼ tspn chilli powder
4 curry leaves (dried are ok)	300 ml c44 curry base sauce
50 gm onions (prepared weight)	3 tbspn chopped tomatoes
1 tspn chopped ginger	3 green chillies (See note 2)
1 tspn chopped garlic	1 portion precooked chicken
¼ tspn salt	1 tbspn chopped coriander
½ tspn ground coriander	2 or 3 tbspn double cream (optional - see note 3)
½ - ¾ tspn cardamom seeds (could use powder)

Preparation

Crush the 3 cardamom pods to split them open and set aside with the curry leaves.
Finely dice the onion.
Finely chop the ginger.
Finely chop the garlic.
Crush sufficient cardamom pods to produce ¾ tspn of seeds and crush to a powder in a pestle and mortar (more can be used as a garnish).
De-seed 2 of the chillies and chop into small 'match stick' sized pieces (See picture).
Split the 3rd chilli lengthwise and set aside with the other chillies.
Chop the fresh coriander.
Dilute the c44 curry base sauce with 100 ml of water to make 400ml and warm before use (not all 400 ml is likely to be required).

Cooking

Heat the oil in a heavy pan or wok and fry the 3 cardamom pods and 4 curry leaves until aromatic.
Stir in the onion, ginger, garlic and salt and cook, stirring regularly for 3 min.
Stir in the ground coriander, ground cardamom, turmeric and chilli powder and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 min, adding a little c44 base sauce if needed to prevent drying and burning.
Stir in the chopped tomatoes, chopped and whole green chillies, chicken and 80 ml of c44 base sauce and cook, stirring regularly for 3 min, adding c44 base sauce as needed to maintain the desired sauce consistency.
Reduce the heat and stir in the chopped coriander and cream and cook for 1 min.

Serving

Serve with rice and garnish with a little fresh coriander and optionally sprinkle a little more ground cardamom.

Notes

(1) The cardamom pods can be removed from the oil before the onions are added or left in the curry to produce a strong cardamom flavour burst when unexpectedly chewed whilst eating the finished curry.
(2) The amount of chilli used will depend on personal preference and the type of chillies used. The ones I used here are called 'bullet chillies' and purchased from an Indian Supermarket.
(3) Cream is not in the original recipe, but I have included it to add a delicious indulgence and recommend its use.

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