Serves: 4

The name on the tin is exactly what you get here: a beautiful chicken curry in a rich scarlet sauce.

Another Pushpent Pant win.

Marinate the chicken overnight and this is a simple, authentic curry for a special mid-week meal.

Ingredients

1 c natural yoghurt, whisked
4 green cardamom pods
2 black cardamom pods
800gm chicken thigh cut into pieces
1 c mustard oil*
2 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks, 2.5cm long
4 cloves
Small pinch of asafoetida
1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground aniseed
1 tsp Garam Masala
Salt

Method

1. Mix the yoghurt and cardamom pods in a bowl to make a marinade, then season with salt. Put the chicken in a large shallow dish and rub the marinade evenly over the chicken, cover and set aside in the refrigerator for 3 hours.
2. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pan over medium heat, add the chicken, bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves and asafoetida and stir gently though constantly for 10 minutes until the yoghurt dries and the oil separates out. Now reduce the heat and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the chicken turns brown. Mix in the chilli powder, increase the heat and stir quickly, then add the ginger, aniseed powder and garam masala together with 1 c of water. Reduce the heat and cook until the sauce thickens.

* Two points here. 1. Mustard oil is lovely and definitely worth getting. 2. I used a little over 1/4 c. Oily Indian curries are lovely, though 1 c will scare your guests.