Chicken Handi

Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken, bone-in, cut into 10–12 curry pieces
• 80 ml cooking oil
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• ½ cup plain yogurt, at room temperature and whisked smooth
• 1½ tsp salt, or to taste
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ cup water, hot
• ½ cup fresh cream (or full-fat cooking cream)
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), crushed between your palms
• 3 green chillies, slit lengthways
• 1 tbsp ginger, cut into thin matchsticks, for garnish
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

1. Pat the chicken pieces dry with a paper towel. Whisk the yogurt until completely smooth so it won't split later, and keep it near the stove.
2. Heat the oil in the handi or heavy pot over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and fry, stirring often, until soft and light golden, not dark brown. This gives a pale, creamy gravy.
3. Add the ginger-garlic paste and stir for about 1 minute until the raw smell disappears.
4. Add the chicken and raise the heat to medium-high. Sear, turning the pieces now and then, until the outside turns opaque and lightly golden.
5. Add the tomatoes, salt, chilli powder, coriander, cumin and turmeric. Cook, stirring and mashing the tomatoes with the back of the spoon, until they break down into a thick paste and oil rises to the edges.
6. Turn the heat to low. Add the yogurt a few spoonfuls at a time, stirring constantly, then cook for 3 minutes until the masala looks glossy and thick.
7. Pour in the hot water and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook on low heat, stirring once or twice, until the chicken is tender and reaches 74°C at the thickest piece, and the juices run clear.
8. Stir in the cream, slit green chillies, garam masala and crushed kasuri methi. Cover and let it rest on the lowest heat so the flavours come together and the oil floats on top. If the gravy is too thick, add a splash of hot water.
9. Taste and adjust the salt. Garnish with ginger matchsticks and fresh coriander and serve straight from the pot.

Tips

• Fry the onions only to light golden. Dark onions will turn the handi brown and slightly bitter instead of creamy and pale.
• Use room-temperature yogurt and add it on low heat while stirring, otherwise it may curdle.
• Bone-in chicken gives a much better gravy than boneless. If using boneless, cut the simmering time to about 12 minutes.
• Add the cream at the end and don't boil it hard, or the gravy can separate.