Lemony Chicken Curry

I came across this recipe while trying to source for lemon savoury dishes and I thought, hey, some curries do have a sour note to them so why not? Mr G said yeah he loved curries with some form of sourness like assam or even lemon in them. So I decided to make this curry.

Interestingly, this recipe is from bewitching kitchen who adapted it from Madhur Jaffrey Indian Cooking. Madhur Jaffrey is an acclaimed author of several cookbooks of Indian, Asian and vegetarian cuisines, of which many have become best sellers.

Please see my modifications in blue. For a comprehensive one-dish meal, I added vegetables like cauliflower, celery and carrots. You may add suitable vegetables of your own desire.

Ingredients:

• 1 piece of ginger root, 2 inches long, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 1/2 pounds chicken thighs, skinless (I used 1kg of chicken drumsticks)
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 7 ounces fresh cilantro, minced (I omitted this as I did not have it but it would be good to have this)
• 1/2 serrano pepper, minced
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper I used 1-2 tbsp chilli flakes
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander seed
• 1/2 1 tbsp turmeric
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbs lemon juice
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 1 tbsp curry powder

Method:

1. Place the ginger root and 1/4 cup water in the bowl of a food processor, and blend until it forms a paste.
2. Heat the oil over medium-high heat, and brown the chicken pieces on both sides. Remove the pieces to a bowl as they get ready.
3. Add the garlic to the oil, as soon as the pieces start to get some color turn down the heat to medium and add the ginger paste. Cook for a minute or so, and add the fresh cilantro, serrano pepper, cayenne, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and salt. Stir everything well and cook for a minute. I added the vegetables at this point.
4. Put back the chicken pieces and any liquid that accumulated in the bowl. Add 2/3 cup water, and lemon juice and chicken stock cube. Bring to a boil, cover the pan, turn the heat down to low, and cook for 25 minutes.
5. Turn the chicken pieces over, cover again and cook for 15 to 20 minutes more, until tender. If the sauce is too thin, then uncover the pan and cook it down.

Can you see the chicken breast apart from the other 'participants' in this dish like the cauliflower, sausage, carrots, etc? Haha this was a request from Mr G so it can be a more comprehensive one-dish meal.

Honestly, lemon juice definitely balanced out the flavour of this curry. This is the first time I've used lemon juice in a curry and I'm sure this won't be my last :)

I'm linking this post to the event, Little Thumbs Up organized by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of my little favourite DIY which is hosted by me.

The Little Thumbs Up event begins every first Tuesday of the month until the last day of the month so you are just on time. Do join us! 

To join, simply cook or bake any recipe with the theme of LEMON for February 2014 and link up with us at this post anytime until 28 February 2014.

Do not forget to display your Thumbs Up picture or display the badge above. 

Your post should be:

1. a current post i.e. only for February 2014
2. Please mention 'Little Thumbs Up' in your label and post and link back to Bake for Happy Kids, my little favourite DIY or/and Grace of Life can be Simple. For more details, you may refer to this.

I'm also submitting this post to Cook-Your-Books#9 hosted by Joyce of kitchenflavours.