This green chicken masala is Karen Martini’s new go-to midweek chicken curry

Name: This green chicken masala is Karen Martini’s new go-to midweek chicken curry
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 4-6
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 8 chicken chops* (skin-on, bone-in thighs); salt flakes; 50ml extra virgin olive oil; 1½ tbsp cumin seeds; 3 sprigs of curry leaves; 1 brown onion, finely diced; ½ thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and sliced; 80g butter; 2 tsp ground cinnamon; 200ml chicken stock or water

Karen Martini

May 18, 2023

Serve this bright and light curry with steamed basmati rice and yoghurt.William Meppem

easyTime:30 mins - 1 hourServes:4-6

This is my new go-to, favourite midweek curry. It’s deliciously bright and light and the swift cooking time for the flavour payoff is a real winner.

I always pair this with some steamed basmati rice and a simple raita of yoghurt, lime and fresh mint, with salt and sugar to taste. This dish also reheats extremely well, with the flavours only becoming more intense overnight.

Ingredients

8 chicken chops* (skin-on, bone-in thighs)
salt flakes
50ml extra virgin olive oil
1½ tbsp cumin seeds
3 sprigs of curry leaves
1 brown onion, finely diced
½ thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
80g butter
2 tsp ground cinnamon
200ml chicken stock or water

For the masala paste

80g raw cashews, Brazil nuts or macadamias, soaked for 20 minutes in freshly boiled water that just covers the nuts
3 handfuls of baby spinach, roughly chopped
3 handfuls of coriander leaves, roughly chopped
3 handfuls of mint leaves, roughly chopped
2 long green chillies, each cut into three pieces (remove the seeds for a milder result)
4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
50ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt flakes

Method

Step 1
Remove the bone from the thighs* by flipping them skin side down and cutting around the bone until it pulls away. Cut each thigh into four even-sized pieces.
Step 2
For the paste, put all the ingredients, including the water the nuts have soaked in, into a blender and blitz to a paste.
Step 3
Heat a large, deep-sided frying pan over medium–high heat, then add the chicken pieces, skin side down, to the dry pan (the fat will render out) and season with salt. Cook until golden (about 5-8 minutes), then remove from the pan (you only need to sear one side).
Step 4
Add the oil, cumin and curry leaves to the pan and fry for about 2 minutes until the leaves turn bright green. Add the onion, ginger and butter and cook for about 4 minutes to soften. Add the cinnamon, stir through and return the chicken to the pan. Add the paste and stir to coat the chicken.
Step 5
Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, then add the stock or water and stir. Cook for about 20 minutes, partially covered, until the chicken is cooked. Serve with rice.

*Note: Some may baulk at deboning chicken thighs for a quick meal, but the flavour extracted from searing the skin is irreplaceable and it’s really not that hard once you get the hang of it. (Good luck buying skin-on thigh fillets, though.)