Easy chicken dish on the cheap.

So, I've been away awhile. In respect of the new year, I'm sharing some of the things I've cooked lately over the next few days.

Just right now, I'll be sharing what I'm eating right now (as in: I'm nomming it as I type).

Those of you who've read my posts before will know I love Indian cooking.

And as always: Indian-style cooking should be something everyone should know, since it's going to be a lot of food per visit to the kitchen. One shouldn't bother with amounts as much (I'd say this goes for most forms of cooking). Use whatever you're comfortable with and play around with it all.

That said, let's take a look at

What you'll need (costs included where possible)

• Chicken (whatever portion you like, minus skin); I had a single chicken breast from my local butchers' effective cost: £1.50
• A large potato (about 500g, however much you want, really) cost: under £1
• Dried chillies and fresh birds eye chillies (however much you want) costs negligible
• A spice mix (see below) costs negligible
• Oil, warm water, chicken/beef stock, garlic and ginger paste, chilli powder, butter, and salt and pepper costs negligible (Mustard oil is what I used for the meat, and sunflower oil for the potatoes. If you don't have mustard oil, use whatever oil you have -- the difference in taste is mild, but it's best to use the original thing)
• Tomato paste (I've recently started using this Romanian/Eastern European tomato paste which is gorgeous; as an alternative, you can use puree/passata) costs negligible since you'll only need two/three spoonfuls. My bottle came for £2.00
• A large onion (£0.79 per kg, I only used one of about 250g) effective cost £0.20 Ideally, red onions work best; I only had a white one on hand, myself.

The spice mix

I used a mix of my mum's home-made spice, chilli powder, and paprika. To emulate the taste of my mum's spice, mix together cumin powder, bay leaf powder, turmeric, red chilli powder, black pepper powder, and coriander powder.

Utensils needed: Two saucepans (or one frying pan and a saucepan), two knives, a straining spoon/ladle, a spatula, a fork, and a plate.

What to do?!

• Take your chicken out at least 15-20 minutes before cooking. Cut into 1" chunks on the longest side and stab the pieces all over with the fork.
• Sprinkle the chicken with your spices (flavouring spice, salt, pepper, chilli powder), and coat with mustard oil (or normal oil if you don't have mustard), garlic/ginger paste, and a spoon of tomato paste. Mix well and set aside.
• Finely chop up 3/4^ths of your onion and dice the other 1/4^th into chunks.
• Slice your fresh chillies (if you don't want too much heat, just leave them out) into thin strips.
• Skin your potato and slice into thin slices. If they look too big, cut them in half.
• Place your potatoes in warm, salted water and leave for 15-20 minutes. Actually, you know what? Use this Redditor's technique. It's almost what I did tonight. Just don't make them all too thin for this recipe. Soak them, drain them, and then deep fry them with some added butter for flavour (a narrow, deep pan is best to use) with a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and flavouring spice until they're crisp on the outside and cooked through. Drain out and set aside.
• On a separate pan, drop a generous amount of butter in, and top with mustard oil when the pan's hot.
• Lower the heat to medium. Add your dried chillies (rip them in half, first!) and bitty onions with a pinch of salt. Stir together.
• When the onions are glossy and about to melt, drop in your garlic/ginger paste with some flavouring spices (be generous!) and pepper. Stir again.
• Increase your heat. Make a space within your onion mix, and drop your chicken in. Turn your chicken mix over every minute until it's gone white on all sides.
• Add your chunkier onions and (optional) sliced chillies in. Stir everything together. At this point, the chicken should be losing its own liquid, and things will start to get dry. Add a tiny knob of butter in, if you will, for an unhealthier, but more tasty meal.
• Stir in your stock (just let 'er rip, you'll know how you want it done!), add in some tomato paste, stir, and cover the lot for five minutes on the high heat.
• Have a sip of a tasty beverage. We're almost there! This is also a good time to wash your chicken knife/fork/board.
• Open up, reduce the heat, and stir. If things are getting too dry, stir in a small amount of warm water, and let it cook off (this step is best used for deglazing the pan).
• Add your drained potatoes to the pan and stir aggressively. If you're worried about the chicken being undercooked, don't be. It's done. Mash a piece with your spatula and you'll find out. You actually want these tiny chicken pieces almost overcooked. The sauce will balance out the meal. If it's too watery, just simmer the liquid off. If too dry, add more stock/warm water and balance it out.
• Let the meal rest for five minutes once the chicken and potatoes are done. Add some ripped up butter on top and let it settle in.

Done! ^{Remember to salt to taste!}

Additional options!

• Cut a tomato into quarters and mash 'em in if you want some.
• Add some mushrooms in!
• If you want something sweeter, add some sweetcorn in!
• Wilt some spinach on the side and stir it in at the end!
• Got some cooked rice? Mix it in instead of putting it on the side. Your tastebuds will thank you.
• Garnish with coriander/parsley.

Serve

• Serve with rice (if you haven't mixed it in already!).
• Wrap into a roti/ruti/chapatti/soft tortilla, tuck it in, add some freshly-chopped onion and whatever condiments you like, and nom away!
• Serve on top of lightly-seasoned mash with a side of green vegetables.
• Cool down the leftovers, shred with forks, and serve over a crisp salad!

Pictures!

• Almost done!
• Rested!
• Staring at me right now (Yep... I had it on its own)

And there we are!

If you don't want the butter, don't bother with it so much. Except for all the butter I chucked in, this is quite a healthy, tasty meal. It'll taste great anyhows, so go for it!

Remember: this is not hard-and-fast. Feel free to play around with it and customise it to your tastes.

Have fun, and enjoy!

Submitted December 30, 2016 at 11:38PM by ionised http://ift.tt/2iroPGd