Zeera murg (cumin chicken)
8 Servings
Ingredients
| Quantity | Ingredient | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | kilograms | Chicken thigh |
| Cutlets or breasts, | ||
| Whole or in fine | ||
| Strips (4.5 lb) | ||
| Juice of 2 lemons | ||
| 1 | teaspoon | Salt |
| 2 | teaspoons | Cayenne |
| 3 | ounces | Flour |
| 6 | ounces | Butter |
| 2 | Onions, finely sliced | |
| 2 | cloves | Garlic, crushed |
| 2½ | Inch piece root ginger, | |
| Finely chopped | ||
| 2 | teaspoons | Cumin seeds |
| 500 | millilitres | Yoghurt* (1 pint) |
| 150 | millilitres | Fresh cream* (or equal |
| Quantity of sour light | ||
| Cream) (1/2 cup) | ||
| 1 | can | Coconut cream (if mixture |
| Seems too dry through | ||
| Prolonged cooking) | ||
| Thinly pared rind of | ||
| 1 lemon, in 1 piece | ||
| (ho ho ho..if you can | ||
| Achieve this you are | ||
| Truly exceptional) | ||
Directions
Place chicken on a large plate and rub over with lemon juice. Set aside for at least 20 minutes, then pat fry with kitchen paper. Mix salt, cayenne and flour on a plate and dredge chicken pieces, shaking off excess. Melt butter in pan, add the chicken and fry until browned. Add onions, garlic, ginger and cumin seeds and fry until golden brown. Stir in yoghurt, cream and lemon rind. Return chicken to mixture and mix until all chicken is well coated. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 1 hour or until chicken is cooked. Uncover the pan for the last 20 minutes, to allow sauce to reduce. Discard lemon rind (if you can find it) before serving.
I found that the mixture was too dry for the quantity of chicken, so I used additional yoghurt/sour cream and the coconut cream to get the consistency I liked. WALT
Philippa Jane Wightman P.O. Box 270, The Gap Q Australia