Black Pepper Curry Chicken

Many Indian curries use lots of spices to great effect, building layers of flavour. This chicken curry has the same effect, but uses fewer spices than most north Indian recipes call for. The dish is redolent of black pepper, whose heat is tempered by a base of puréed onions and yoghurt.

It’s a simple recipe, and makes a nice main, best served with an Indian bread like a roti or a simple paratha. Because it is a thick sauce, I don’t recommend it with rice.

Sorry, no image. We ate it all before the photos. 😋

Ingredients

• 1.25 kg chicken pieces (breast, leg, thigh), on the bone recommended
• 2½ tablespoons of whole black peppercorns (yes, it sounds like a lot, but it will be tempered by the other ingredients)
• 200 g Greek yoghurt, whipped
• 200 g sliced onions
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cloves
• 1 tablespoon of garlic paste
• ½ tablespoon of ginger paste
• Salt to taste
• 2–3 tablespoons of oil

Method

1. Grind the black pepper in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. You need a coarse grind.
2. Marinate the chicken in half the ground black pepper, 1 tbsp of oil, the ginger and garlic pastes, and 1 tsp of salt.
3. Allow the chicken to marinate for at least half an hour. If rushed, you can cook the chicken straight away, but marinating is always better.
4. In a thick-bottomed pan, heat the remaining oil and add the bay leaves and the cloves.
5. When they become aromatic and release their smell, reduce the heat to low and add the onions.
6. We need to soften the onions, not brown them. This gentle cooking removes their pungency.
7. Once the onions are soft and translucent, remove them from the heat and pick out the bay leaves and the cloves.
8. Grind the softened onions into a purée, adding a little water if necessary to get a smooth paste.
9. Meanwhile, brown the marinated chicken pieces in the pan, then set them aside.
10. Return the pan to high heat and add back the onion purée, the bay leaves and the cloves.
11. Return the chicken to the onion purée in the pan, and stir to mix everything together.
12. Add the remaining black pepper, reserving a large pinch for garnish.
13. Reduce the heat to low, whip the yoghurt and add it, stirring to mix everything together well.
14. Add up to ½ cup of warm or hot water to help blend everything together. Season with salt at this point.
15. Cook for about 30–40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken pieces. Check the seasoning again.
16. You should have a thick curry coating the chicken.
17. Serve hot, garnished with the reserved black pepper.

Tips

1. Always add dairy on low heat to stop it scorching and splitting.
2. Use ghee instead of oil for cooking the onions, to give an interesting depth to the base.
3. Like most braises, stews and curries, this will be better the next day.

Eat in good health!