Chicken and Potato in Spices

I decided to learn more about spices and how to use them to prepare a meal from scratch. I have been preparing curries for a long time, but I often use the same spices, the same ingredients. Every time I go to a grocery shop, I could spend hours in front of the spices counter. I would smell all of them but often leave the shop empty-handed, because I would not know how to use them.

So I chose to start a journey in order to explore more the world of spices and bought a few cookbooks. This particular recipe comes from Chetna Makan’s Healthy Indian cookbook. I love Indian food, it is very similar to Burmese food (indeed, it has a lot of influences from India, together with Chinese and Thai cuisines). I must say that when I started to prepare this meal and to work with the spices, my kitchen started to smell like my family home in Myanmar. Amazingly good!

I adopted a few variations to the Chetna’s original recipes, following some personal preferences, and the result was absolutely mind-blowing!

Print Recipe

Chicken and Potato in Spices

Author: Stella Cuisine + Inspiration: Indian

Difficulty: Easy Prep Time 5 min Cook Time 65 min Total Time 1 hr 10 mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients

Servings

• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil (EVO)
• 1 teaspoon Black Mustard Seeds
• 1 teaspoon Fenugreek Seeds
• 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
• 2 teaspoons Fennel Seeds
• 2 teaspoons Sesame Seeds (instead of nigella seeds according to the original recipe)
• 3 Dried Red Chillies (finely chopped)
• 2 Onions (small, roughly chopped)
• 1 Garlic clove (finely chopped)
• 1 cm Fresh Ginger Root (peeled, finely chopped)
• 2 tablespoons Tomato Puree
• 1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Ground Turmeric
• 1 teaspoon Chilli Powder
• 8 Skinless Chicken Thighs (you can also use 4 thighs and 4 drumsticks)
• 100 milliliters Natural Yogurt
• 1 Large Potato (skin on, cut in half and sliced into discs)

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add all the seeds and the dried chillies. Allow them to sizzle for a minute or more, ensuring they do not burn.
   
2. Add the onions, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes until they are golden brown.
   
3. Add the garlic and ginger. Cook for a minute.
   
4. Finally, add the tomato puree, salt, turmeric and chilli powder. Mix all well.
   
5. Increase the heat and add the chicken thighs. Stir for 2 minutes, then cover the pot with a lid, reduce the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes. You do not need to add any water as the chicken will release its juices.
   
6. After the time has passed, add the potato discs and yogurt, and combine well with the chicken. Cover the pot with the lid and let it cook for another 20-25 minutes.
   
7. Serve with chapatti or rice.
   

Notes

For added flavour, you can prepare the chicken a day in advance. The meat will be even tastier!