Spicy Chicken Curry

Ingredients:
Chicken: 1 kg, bone-in-chicken cut into medium sized pieces.

To mince finely or paste
Onion: 3.
Ginger: 1.5 inch.
Garlic: 18-20 cloves.
Curry leaves: 1 sprig.

First Seasoning:
Cardamon: 3 or 4, lightly crushed.
Cloves: 3 or 4.
Cinnamon: 1/4 inch piece.
A fat pinch of fennel seeds.(optional)

Masalas:
Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder: 1 1/2 to 2 tbsp, adjust according to your taste.(if using ordinary red chilly powder, reduce by half)
Coriander powder: 1 tbsp, heaped.
Turmeric: 1/4 tsp.
Pepper powder: 3/4 tsp.
Garam Masala: 2 tsp.
................................
Tomatoes: 2, large chopped or 3 medium.
Salt: 1.5 tsp or as needed.
Coconut oil: 4 tbsp.
Curry leaves.
Water: About 1 cup....to add to tomatoes and lastly to chicken.

Second Tadka/Seasoning:
Coconut oil: 1 tsp.
Whole red chilly: 4-5, broken.
Mustard seeds: 3/4 tsp.
Curry leaves.

Method:
Gather all the ingredients for mincing or pasting.

I used my food processor; just cut onions and ginger roughly and put in the food processor along with garlic, green chilly, and curry leave, and blitz away!.

Minced!!

In a heavy bottomed large Kadai or pan or whatever is available in your kitchen (just make sure it will hold one kg meat), heat 4 tbsp of coconut oil. Add in cardamons, cinnamon, cloves and fennel.

Add in the minced onion mix. Once it becomes hot, reduce the flame and let it saute on low flame for 15 min or until the onions becomes medium brown. At this point add salt too.

You can also, add chicken fat (if there are any) to this...let it fry away on low flame....stir occasionally, so that it does not get sticked to the pan

Meanwhile, measure the spices on to a plate...for your ease.

Add in the masala powders and mix.....remember low flame all the way.

Add in the chopped tomatoes.

And mix and add little water about 1/4 cup....this is just to make the tomatoes all mushy and cook faster.

Again saute for another 10 minutes or until oil comes out...this is really important!! so have patience till the oil starts coming out. Let me also mention that, this is the basic curry sauce.....you can make this ahead and freeze or refrigerate ....and then later heat this up and proceed to the next step. See that oil?? Yeah, we are on!!

Add in the chicken.

Mix them up.....add some fresh curry leaves...and allow the chicken to be mixed on low flame for another 10 minutes or so...this is to make moisture in the chicken to be absorbed, and it will be lightly fried....so do not add water....after about 10-15 min...the chicken will be 3/4 cooked....you can also cover the pan.

The chicken is cooked, juicey and tender....I added about 1/2 cup of water and allowed it to simmer a few minutes....if you want a thick gravy 1/2 cup will be fine...but for a not-so-thick-gravy.....can add 1/4 cup more water...I am a thick-gravy-kind-of-person :)

Lastly, the second seasoning... heat another small kadai or pan with a tsp of coconut oil and add in the mustard seeds, red chilly, and curry leaves....lightly fry it and pour this on top of the curry....preferably just before serving.

I'd like to keep the chicken in the kadai/pan for 5 minutes or so....and then serve....so that the gravy will be really thick!!