easy chicken phaal

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 3 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 (4 inch) piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
• 1 1/4 teaspoons lal mirchi (ground indian red chile pepper)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 14 teaspoons ground fenugreek
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 6 tablespoons water, divided
• 5 fresh red jwala chiles, finely chopped (use gloves)
• 7 habanero chiles, finely chopped (use gloves)
• 4 roma (plum) tomatoes, finely chopped

Recipe

Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 40 mins Ready Time: 1 hr


• heat ghee in a large heavy skillet over medium heat and cook and stir red onion in the hot butter until starting to brown, about 8 minutes; stir in garlic and fresh ginger and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 more minute. stir in chicken pieces and cook and stir until lightly golden brown, about 10 more minutes.
• mix ground fennel, lal mirchi, cumin, coriander, ground ginger, fenugreek, turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper in a bowl with 1 to 2 tablespoons water or as needed to make a paste; stir into the chicken and fry spice paste for 2 minutes. pour in remaining 1/4 cup water and fry the spices and chicken until the water has almost evaporated, 7 to 8 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent spices from burning.
• mix in jwala chiles, habanero chiles, and tomatoes; cook, stirring often, until tomatoes are softened and start to break apart, about 10 minutes. if chicken is still slightly pink inside, stir in more water, a tablespoon at a time, and cook until water has evaporated and chicken is cooked through.