Chicken Dilruba
Ingredients:
2 medium onions
1 cup milk
2 tbs. chopped fresh ginger root
2 TB Punjabi garam masala
6 tbs. butter or vegetable oil
1 tsp. ground turmeric
3-4 lb. chicken, skin removed, cut
2-3 fresh green cayenne peppers, minced, into small pieces
or serranos/jalapenos as substitute
1 cup fresh plain yogurt
Salt and ground cayenne to taste
1/4 cup almonds, ground A few strands whole saffron, soaked
in 2 tbs. warm milk
1/4 cup walnuts, ground
Minced fresh cilantro and whole 1/4 cup melon, pumpkin or
squash seeds almonds/cashews for garnish (optional), ground
Preparation :
Put the onions and ginger in a blender or food processor
and process into a smooth paste (consistency of apple sauce).
Heat the butter or oil in a heavy, deep skillet and gently
brown the onion-ginger mixture, stirring often. Add the
chicken and yogurt. Combine well and cook over medium heat
until the mixture becomes rather dry and the chicken begins
to brown. Grind the almonds, walnuts and melon seeds until
quite fine. Stir them into the milk, then add the mixture
to the chicken along with the garam masala, turmeric, chili
peppers, salt and ground cayenne. Cook over medium heat,
stirring often, until the chicken is very tender and the
sauce is very thick (about 10-15 minutes). Stir in the saffron/milk
mixture and cook 1-2 minutes longer.