Chicken Dopiaza

Dopiaza curry is an ancient Indian dish that is become a favourite worldwide. And it is not surprising, big, bold tastes of spice and lots of onions make this one seriously tasty curry.

Dopiaza means two onions in Persian. But is is not really two onions. It's onion two ways. It refers to a delicious curry recipe using a base of onion puree as well as additional onions for a delicious sauce that can be used with a variety of different meats or proteins.

It is a popular choice at Indian takeaways or restaurants across the UK and other parts of the world.

I like to serve this with simple pilau rice.

Ingredients:

• 550-650g boneless chicken breast or thighs, cut into bite pieces
• 1½ cup of chicken stock
• 2 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, pureed
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1½ tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp chilli powder, depending on your spice level
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 4 green cardamom pods
• 450g onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 80ml natural yoghurt
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 3 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

Bring a small saucepan of ½ cup of water to boil and add 250g of the chopped onion. Boil until soft, drain and puree with a hand blender or in a food processor. Set aside.

Heat a deep frying pan over a medium-high heat, add the oil. Add in the remaining onion and carrots and fry for a few minutes to soften.

Add the garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, chilli powder, garam masala and tomato paste. Stir until paste-like. Add a little drop of water to prevent sticking if needed.

Add the chicken meat and add the cardamom pods. Add in the onion puree and bring to a boil, then reduce heat slightly and simmer for 15-20 minutes. The liquid should have reduced down into a thick gravy that coats the chicken. If it is still liquidly, turn up the heat a little to allow it to bubble gently.

Spoon some of the gravy into the yoghurt, to bring the yoghurt to room temperature and then remove dopiaza from the heat and stir in the yoghurt.

Decorate with some chopped coriander & serve with plain rice