Punch in the Face Garlic Chilli Chicken
A visit to my friend Flora yielded a nice bag of chillies from her prolific chilli plant.
She doesn't like chillies. Go figure.
So I had to invent this delicious curry to use them up.
Life's hard eh?
My friend John the Cave Bague described it like being punched in the face with garlic, and even I thought it was perhaps a bit heavy on the garlic, if that's even possible.
The garlic pungency did seem to fade after a day or two, to the point where I was almost thinking of freshening it up with more, but I think it must just have been my cold because then it got better again.
So I had to invent this delicious curry to use them up.
Life's hard eh?
My friend John the Cave Bague described it like being punched in the face with garlic, and even I thought it was perhaps a bit heavy on the garlic, if that's even possible.
The garlic pungency did seem to fade after a day or two, to the point where I was almost thinking of freshening it up with more, but I think it must just have been my cold because then it got better again.
Punch in the Face Garlic Chilli Chicken
curry fowl main
Fearsome hot and fearsome garlicky. Is what you're aiming for here.
Serves 6
Ingredients
- several tblsps ghee
- 6 cloves
- 2 black cardamoms, pierced
- 2 tsps fenugreek seeds
- 1 medium (1.5kg) chicken, jointed, cut into large chunks
- a dozen green chillies
- 1 head garlic, cloves peeled and thinly sliced
- couple of bell peppers, any colour I had a green and a yellow one, cut into 1" lozenges
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp crushed fenugreek leaves
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp ground cumin optional - since I forgot it!
- 2-3 tbsp vinegar I used red wine vinegar
- 2 tblsps tomato purée
- 1 glass white wine since I had some leftover
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- handful coriander leaves, chopped
Joint the chicken separate, the flesh from the bones and cut into largeish chunks
Crush up the fenugreek leaves in a mortar, mix with the powdered garam masala, turmeric and salt and stir in the vinegar. Leave to infuse.
Heat a generous amount of ghee in a deep, heavy frying pan.
Do all the following frying in batches as necessary to avoid crowding the pan, adding more ghee as required...
Add the pierced black cardamoms until they fizz, then the cloves until they fizz, then the fenugreek seeds until they fizz. When their aroma is nicely released, add the chicken pieces in smallish batches and fry until they colour. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
When they're done, remove and discard all the spices.
Fry the garlic slices over high heat until starting to colour around the edges but do not burn. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Fry the bell pepper lozenges until they frazzle at the edges and soften a little. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Now fry all the chopped onion in one batch until glassy and taking on a little colour.
Add the spice paste and fry until the oil separates.
Add the tomato purée and fry until the oil separates.
Add the chicken pieces ans stir to coat well. Pour in the wine if you have some to use up and bubble off then add the tinned tomatoes.
Cook for 10 minutes to reduce a little, then add the fried bell peppers, most of the chillies and garlic and simmer until the sauce thickens (maybe another 10 minutes). Before serving, season, stir though a bunch of chopped coriander leaves, and deliver garnished with the reserved chillies and garlic slices.
I didn't deliberately remove the skin, though most of it came away anyway.
Cut the stalk off the chillies and cut crossways into fat(1") slices.
I used about a dozen red and green mild plump jalapeño chillies and left in the seeds.
Cut the bell peppers into 1" lozenges, and peel and slice the garlic fairly thinly.Crush up the fenugreek leaves in a mortar, mix with the powdered garam masala, turmeric and salt and stir in the vinegar. Leave to infuse.
Heat a generous amount of ghee in a deep, heavy frying pan.
Do all the following frying in batches as necessary to avoid crowding the pan, adding more ghee as required...
Add the pierced black cardamoms until they fizz, then the cloves until they fizz, then the fenugreek seeds until they fizz. When their aroma is nicely released, add the chicken pieces in smallish batches and fry until they colour. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
When they're done, remove and discard all the spices.
Without getting anal about the fenugreek seeds.
Reheat the ghee, adding more if necessary, then fry the chillies over high heat until the begin to crisp at the edges.
Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.Fry the garlic slices over high heat until starting to colour around the edges but do not burn. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Fry the bell pepper lozenges until they frazzle at the edges and soften a little. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Now fry all the chopped onion in one batch until glassy and taking on a little colour.
Add the spice paste and fry until the oil separates.
Add the tomato purée and fry until the oil separates.
Add the chicken pieces ans stir to coat well. Pour in the wine if you have some to use up and bubble off then add the tinned tomatoes.
Cook for 10 minutes to reduce a little, then add the fried bell peppers, most of the chillies and garlic and simmer until the sauce thickens (maybe another 10 minutes). Before serving, season, stir though a bunch of chopped coriander leaves, and deliver garnished with the reserved chillies and garlic slices.
Quite excellent - but perhaps a touch heavy on the garlic, if that's even possible.
Either it destroyed my sense of taste, however, or the garlic flavour strangely evaporates after a day or two
- so you might need to fry up more slices to freshen up leftovers.
Though my friend John the Cave Bague still described it like being punched in the face with garlic!
I had a lemon to juice over before serving, but skipped it in the end since I didn't think it would go.
I had a lemon to juice over before serving, but skipped it in the end since I didn't think it would go.