Rajasthani Jeera Chicken Curry

 This recipe is courtsey my colleague Sana Quazi, who is from Udaipur.

Ingredients For Marination

1. 1 kg Curry Cut Chicken
2. 3 tsp Jeera (Cumin) powder
3. 1 tsp Dhaniya (Coriander) powder
4. 1 tsp Kashmiri Mirch powder
5. 1 tsp Ginger Garlic
6. 1/2 Cup Yoghurt (Dahi)
7. 2-3 tsp oil

Marination - Mix all the above and leave it for 30 mins

Ingredients For Curry

1. 2 Medium Onions roughly Cut
2. 4-5 Garlic Cloves
3. 5 tsp Jeera (Cumin)
4. 7-8 Dry Red chillies (Non-spicy ones) (Sookhi laal mirch)
5. 1 tsp Amchur powder
6. 1 tsp Jeera powder
7. 1 tsp turmeric powder
8. 1 tsp Kashmiri mirch powder
9. 2 cups Hung Curd (Take a clean cloth and hang the curd for few minutes to remove all the water and mix it well)
10. Salt to taste

Method

• Put Cut Onions and Garlic Cloves in a microwavable bowl and heat it for 1 minute. This is to take out the raw smell
• Remove water and put it in the blender and make a paste. Keep the onion-garlic paste aside
• Put Jeera, Amchur powder, red chillies and 1 tsp salt in a blender jar. Put half a cup of water and blend it into a fine paste. Keep Jeera-Redchilli paste aside
• Heat oil in a pan and put the onion-garlic paste and saute till it becomes slightly brown. Add 1 tsp jeera powder, turmeric powder and Kashmiri mirch powder and saute until oil starts to leave. 
• Turn the heat to high and Add Chicken and cover the lid for 2-3 minutes
• Reduce the heat to medium and turn the chicken pieces on the other side and cover the lid.
• Let the chicken cook for 10 to 15 mins with the lid covered- keep stirring them occasionally.
• Add Jeera-Redchilli paste and stir well. Let it cook for another 10-15 mins on low heat. Stir regularly. Add Salt
• Add Hung curd and mix well. Let it cook for 10 mins on low heat until Oil leaves from the mix and the gravy thickens.
• Add 1 cup of water and bring it to a boil and switch off the gas.
• Garnish with green chillies and Coriander leaves

Serve with Roti or Naan!