restaurant style aloo chaat chicken curry
Restaurant style aloo chaat chicken curry is a tangy, medium spicy curry. The chaat masala adds a distinctive taste and the potatoes add a bit of variety to the usual meat or vegetable curry.
Servings: 2
Calories: 664kcal
Ingredients
The spice mix
- 2 tsp hot madras curry powder or use indian restaurant mix powder if you don't have any madras curry powder
- 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder or 1/4 tsp cayenne mixed with 3/4 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp kasoor methi - dried fenugreek leaves
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
The curry ingredients
- 3 Tbsp oil
- 1/2 large onion minced
- 1 green chili seeded and minced
- 1 Tbsp garlic/ginger paste - recipe link below
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste with enough water to dilute to the consistency of pasatta
- 15 oz curry base - recipe link below
- 10-12 oz pre-cooked chicken
- 8 small new potatoes - pre-cooked
- 1 1/2 tsp chaat masala powder available at any Indian grocery
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
- Juice of 1/6 lemon - around 1 tsp or so
Instructions
- Make the spice mix.
- Dilute the tomato paste with enough water to get to the consistency of passata.
- Heat your frying pan (don't use non-stick) briefly over medium heat. Add the oil.
- Add the onions and stir constantly until the edges of the onions start to brown. This takes about a minute or two, depending how hot your pan is. Mix in the green chili and cook another 30 seconds or so.
- Next comes the garlic ginger paste. Add it into the pan and cook it, stirring constantly, until it stops sputtering.
- Turn down the heat and add the spice mix. This is the critical step. Stir it constantly for 30 seconds. If it starts to darken lift the pan off the heat. You want the spice mix to cook in the oil but not burn.
- Turn the heat up to medium high. This is important. The heat is what makes the curry base do its magic. Gives the curry it's Indian restaurant flavour. As you become more comfortable with this technique try pushing it. Add the diluted tomato paste and stir until bubbles form (the oil will likely separate). This takes around 30 seconds to one minute depending on the heat.
- Add 3 oz of curry base. Stir until bubbles form (little craters really), around 30 seconds. Think lively boil. Watch the edges of the pan. The curry can stick here. Sticking is OK. Just scrape it back into the base. Burning is bad.
- Now add 6 oz of curry base and stir briefly. Let it cook until the bubbles form again. This takes 1-2 minutes.
- Add the rest of the curry base and let cook until the bubbles form. Turn the heat down to low and add the chaat masala powder, pre-cooked chicken and potatoes.
- Let the curry simmer for about 5 minutes. If it gets too thick add a bit more curry base. Don't add water.
- Mix in the lemon juice and coriander leaves.
- Garnish with a bit of chopped fresh cilantro and serve.
Notes
The recipe for curry base is here.
The recipe for indian restaurant spice mix is here.
The recipe for garlic ginger paste is here.
If you haven't read about Indian restaurant technique yet, do that before you start cooking.
Have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go.
If you are making multiple curries, have your curry base warming in a pot on the stove. If you are just making one, microwave it to warm it up right before you start cooking.
Indian restaurants pre-cook their meat so it's ready for service. This recipe assumes the same. To pre-cook chicken, simply simmer it with a bit of curry powder and salt in chicken stock for about 10-15 minutes - until it's barely cooked.
To pre-cook lamb or beef, do the same but plan for 1 to 1/2 hours for lamb and 2 hours or more for beef. You are making stew meat so you are braising until tender. You will need to keep an eye on the level of the stock. For beef use beef stock.
Nutrition
Serving: 2servings | Calories: 664kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 99mg | Sodium: 1049mg | Potassium: 1919mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 595IU | Vitamin C: 68.9mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 5.1mg