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

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