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dedicated to the bird

23 October 2010 by Dominic Franks

i have set myself a little challenge… play along if you feel so inclined… you see I have been so inspired watching Jay Rayners’ brilliant ‘Food – What goes in your basket?’ that I have decided to purchase a whole chicken every weekend… and then find a different way to cook with it.

… you see, the chicken is my basic staple, I love it for its flexibility… all those wonderful things you can do with it, from the basic but sumptuous roast, to pan fried with pancetta, or pot stewed, curried, barbecued… the list is quite frankly, endless… and if you buy a whole chicken it’s not only cheaper but tastier and even more versatile.

so I started last week with my One-Pot Roast Chicken but I thought, this week i ought to at least learn how to joint a chicken, so that I can use it in more ways… and so I refer you, dear reader, to the excellent, most definitely not for vegetarians, ‘Meat’ by HFW… a book I stole from the ‘Best Book’ display when I was organising the Observer Food Monthly Awards in 2007… naughty yes, but the perks of the job if you ask me!…

…the jointing was pretty damn easy to be honest and at 40, about time I knew how to do it…

… and with my jointed chicken I’m going for a curry… should last me a few days…

Anjum Anand’s Punjabi Chicken Curry


I love Anjum Anand’s style of modern Indian, but this classic is a really easy to eat, crowd pleaser.  I’ve adapted and changed certain elements mainly due to lack of ingredients and I’ve thrown in some risotto rice at the end to soak up all that delicious liquid…

… oh and I also made a small veggie version for The Big V… I just used 2 pans and followed the same method for both, but when I added the chicken to my pan I added veggie sausages, carrots and mushrooms to the veggie version… other than that it’s exactly the same except I used more of everything to make the curry paste.

15g fresh ginger, peeled
10 large cloves of garlic, peeled
4 small black cardamom pods
4 cloves
a 5cm piece of cinnamon stick
5 tspn vegetable oil
1 bay leaf
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 green chillies – whole put pricked with a knife
750g of chicken joints
5tsp ground coriander
1/4tsp red chilli powder
1/4tsp tumeric
1 1/2 tsp garam masala
salt, to taste
3 medium tomatoes, cut into small wedges (I used a tin of chopped toms)
a handful of rice (any rice but I used risotto, because I had it in the cupboard)

– using a blender, make a fine paste of the ginger and garlic with a little water, set aside.

– place the black cardamom pods in a mortar, give them a bash with the pestle, then remove the husks to leave only the seeds. Add the cloves and cinnamon and grind to a powder. (to be honest I used regular cardamom and just ground the whole lot together…)

– heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan or casserole dish.  Add the bay leaf and onion and cook until brown, around 8-10 minutes.  Add the green chillies and ginger and garlic paste and cook until golden, around 2-4 minutes.

– add the chicken (or veggie stuff) and brown gently over a moderate heat, stir in the spices and the salt and give the whole pan a good stir.  Add the tomatoes and enough water to come 2.5cm up the pan.  Bring to a boil, then cover and cook over a low heat for 15 – 20 mins

– uncover the pan, increase the heat to high and brown the masala.  This will add a lot of depth to the flavour.  Toss and turn the chicken in the reducing paste.  once the water has reduced, lower the heat and continue for another few minutes.  Then add enough hot water to the pan to come to more than halfway up the chicken joints, bring to the boil, stir in the fresh coriander and serve.

– At this point I kept it on the hob and lowered the heat, added the rice and let that soak up the liquid.

… oh and whilst writing this post my dear neighbour Tracey turned up with a belated birthday gift of an Ice Cream Maker!  Woo Hoo!… can’t wait to start using it… think of the possibilities!

eat and of course, enjoy!

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Filed Under: Everything else Tagged With: chicken

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Comments

  1. From Beyond My Kitchen Window says

    23 October 2010 at 8:31 pm

    The chicken dish sounds good. The ice cream maker sounds even better. Imagine fresh coffee ice cream with chocolate chunks yikes!!! I just bought a quart of pumpkin ice cream at my local ice cream stand to have with brownies. Oh the fun you are going to have.

  2. Kavey says

    23 October 2010 at 10:26 pm

    Oooh great idea!
    Here's one for when you cycle back to Indian – my mum's tandoori chicken recipe: http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=10012
    What's next?

  3. The kitchen princess diaries says

    23 October 2010 at 10:27 pm

    Sounds delicious. I love that smoky flavour black cardamom has. I am surprised at how may people do not joint a chicken it is pretty easy once tried a few times. Boning thighs is my main challenge.

  4. Brownieville Girl says

    24 October 2010 at 5:42 pm

    An ice-cream maker!! You lucky yolk!

    Curry sounds delicious, although I'll have to go searching for black cardamom pods.

    Where's the cake????????

  5. Dom at Belleau Kitchen says

    24 October 2010 at 5:51 pm

    Oh BVG… Ice Cream Maker seems to have taken over my life! oooops!

  6. Chele says

    24 October 2010 at 6:42 pm

    Fantastic idea Dom. Can't wait to see what you come up with each week. And well done on jointing your first chicken … something I have never been brave enough to attempt myself!!!

  7. Dom at Belleau Kitchen says

    24 October 2010 at 7:23 pm

    Kavey – thanks so much for the link… i've had a good look and I think I will defo turn here when I next make a curry, the tandoori looks exceptional!

    Chele – I think next week i'm going to try roasting it standing up… and then using the meat in different ways

  8. Dom at Belleau Kitchen says

    24 October 2010 at 7:23 pm

    oh oh oh and I forgot to add in the post that I made my own chapati's which were so tasty and so easy to do!

  9. Susan says

    25 October 2010 at 1:12 pm

    That curry looks wonderful! I made a slow-cooker version last week using just chicken thighs, but yours looks like it was way more savory than my 'Americanized' version.

    Oh, and roasting your chicken standing up? Do I sense a beer can in your future?!? Hahaha!

  10. Mr. P says

    25 October 2010 at 10:34 pm

    If you're in the mood for more stealing… can you put Mr. HFW himself in a swag bag and post to me asap please?

    He makes me go weak at the knees. Tell no-one.

  11. Dom at Belleau Kitchen says

    26 October 2010 at 6:36 am

    Mr P? HFW? REALLY?…

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About Dom In The Kitchen

My name is Dominic, I am a cook, food writer and creative event producer. I write the food blog Dom In The Kitchen and also write a monthly recipe column for Lincolnshire Life Magazine and Good Taste Magazine. I also run creative event production company The Persuaders, producing global events for brands since 1997. I am based both in the small village of Belleau in Lincolnshire and the smaller village of London! Read More…

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