My friends call this ‘Sue’s Red Chicken’. This is my very own chicken preparation in a fiery red curry curated out of my homemade pastes. I add generous dollops of two varieties of red chili pastes, the dry paprika and the regular dry red chilies. Both soaked in warm water and ground into a smooth paste. While the regular red chili paste adds the spiciness, it is the paprika that lends the intense red colour to the dish almost making this dish a chicken version of the ‘Laal Maas’. The cooking begins with the warm splutter of the whole spices to which the sliced onions and the pastes are added which includes the homemade ginger-garlic paste as well. With the freshness oozing out of these homemade pastes, I leave no scope for adding any other powdered spices. The vibrant red colour of the dish is indeed very appetizing and I have had the pleasure of serving it many times with simple fried rice or parathas. This spicy dish of mine is most certainly not for the faint-hearted!
Ingredients:
1 kg whole chicken cut into pieces
3 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
Whole spices:
2 bay leaves
2 star anise
2 one inch stick of cinnamon
1 tbsp black peppercorns
2 black cardamom
5-6 green cardamoms
5-6 cloves
Pastes & Puree:
2 tbsp paprika paste
2 tbsp red chili paste
2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 cup tomato puree
Method:
- Heat the ghee and add all the whole spices. Let them crackle.
2. Add the sliced onions and fry till they brown.
3. Add ginger garlic paste and fry till they are no longer raw.
4. Add the chili pastes and fry all the spices together till the oil starts separating.
5. Add the chicken and let it get coated with all the spices. Add salt and fry for 5 to 7 minutes.
6. Add tomato puree and mix well. Cook or another 5 to 7 minutes.
7. Add water and let it simmer with the lid on till the curry thickens a bit.
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