Everyday Chicken Curry Ingredients 1.25 lb bone-in chicken, dark meat,de skinned (I used 4-5 drum sticks) 4 tbsp mustard oil (substitute with olive/sunflower/vegetable oil) 1 bay leaf 1 cup thin sliced red onions 2 medium Roma tomatoes, roughly diced 3 tbsp plain yogurt 3 garlic cloves 1" fresh ginger shoot 1/2 tsp turmeric powder Salt to taste Up to 1 cup water (depending on the consistency of gravy you want) Chopped Cilantro for garnish Spices for Marinade 1.5 tsp coriander seeds 3/4 tsp black peppercorns 3 cloves 2 whole green cardamom 1/2 tsp cumin seeeds twig of mace 1" cinnamon stick 5 whole dry red chillies (adjust to tolerance) 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder (this lends curry the beautiful red color, not the heat) 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 cup water Notes : In the spices for marinade above, you can substitute whole seeds with lightly dry roasted coriander, black pepper, cayenne, paprika, cardamom powder. Method Wash the chicken pieces thoroughly & pat dry using a paper towel.Set aside. In a small sauce pan, on low heat,dry roast all the whole spices for marinade [except turmeric, kashmiri chilli powder & salt] till you smell the aroma. About 3-4 minutes. Let the roasted spices cool down a bit. Once cooled, tip into your coffee grinder or using mortar & pestle,grind the spices. You don't want them to be powdery. Add turmeric, kashmiri chilli & salt to the ground spices. Mix this with 1/4 cup of water in a small bowl to make the marinade. In a Ziploc bag or a bowl, place the cleaned chicken along with the marinade and rub a little so that all the pieces are covered in the marinade. Set aside for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight in the refrigerator to marinate. Take out the marinated chicken from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes prior to cooking. Once ready to cook, heat up oil in a heavy bottomed pot on medium heat. Once the oil is just smoking, lower the heat & add the chopped onions to the pot.Add the bay leaf too. Cook the onions till golden brown. About 8 minutes. Meanwhile, add the tomatoes, yogurt, garlic, ginger to your food processor and pulse to a smooth mixture. Once the onions have browned, reduce the flame to low and add the tomato-yogurt mix to the pot, stir to combine well with onions. Also add the 1/2 tsp turmeric powder. Cook on low-medium heat with constant stirring to avoid curdling of the yogurt. Initially, you will see yogurt releasing water, but that's okay. Increase the heat to medium and keep on stirring till you see oil separating on the sides of the pot. Add the marinated chicken to the pot next. Add salt to taste. Keep on stirring around the chicken pieces so that they do not stick to the bottom of the pan. They will slowly start releasing their juices. Keep on turning around and cooking the chicken pieces on medium heat for good 20-25 minutes or till they are 95% cooked. Add water to the pot now depending on the desired consistency of the gravy check the salt again cover the pot with a lid and cook the curry for another 10 minutes or so till the chicken is completely cooked. You will need to stir in between once or twice. Once the curry is cooked, remove from heat and let sit covered for at least 45 min - 1 hour before serving. Garnish with cilantro & serve warm. Whether you serve with flatbread or rice, I highly recommend making kachumber (indian salsa) alongside.