So Many Dishes

Ever since I was a kid, Sunday dinner has been special. My mom usually made a roast of some sort, often setting the oven to timed bake so that the meat would be ready shortly after we got home from church. Dinner would be around one, and our evening meal would be a light supper, the only meal of the week that might be eaten in front of the tv.

Ken and I gave up the midday dinner early on, as well as Sunday roast, but not the idea of having a “nice” meal on Sunday. Generally, though, I want to cook something that doesn’t require a lot of effort. As church musicians, Sunday is a long day for us. It’s a good 40-minute drive to church from where we live, and we leave home around 8:00 am for rehearsal before the service. Given that we stay afterwards for at least part of coffee hour, it can be close to 1:00 until we get home. At that point, I want to push back in the recliner, finish reading the newspaper, and not feel guilty if I nod off.

My single thought this past Sunday was “what was I thinking?” I’d suggested Indian chicken in onion-tomato gravy, a favorite recipe from Classic Indian Cooking by Julie Sahni, which I’ve mentioned before. Once the dish is together, there isn’t much to do except to let it cook. Getting to that step, however, had me on my feet in the kitchen for an hour straight, as well as questioning my judgment.

There is nothing particularly difficult about this recipe. But a major step is brown-frying a large quantity of onions, and there’s no way to rush it.

Brown-frying onions is a technique reminiscent of making caramelized onions, but the result is definitely different. It’s done at higher heat, and generally requires constant stirring. When I took an Indian cooking class years ago, the instructor said you didn’t necessarily have to stir constantly, but I’ve found that, once you’re about five minutes into the process, you can’t really stop, except for a couple seconds. It generally takes 20 to 30 minutes to get the onions to the desired color. The recipe calls for cooking the onions for 30 minutes, but since I cut the amount in half—I was cooking for two, not six—I decided to go with the 20 minutes the author indicates in her general brown-frying instructions, with garlic and ginger added to the pan for the last five minutes of cooking time. I probably should have cooked them longer, but I plead exhaustion.

Once the onions were cooked, the rest of the dish was easy. At the end of the cooking time, I turned the heat off and left it on the stove for an hour, since I’d started cooking earlier than usual. When I started cooking rice to serve with the chicken, I turned the heat back on and added the ground cumin and fresh cilantro. This is one of those dishes that really benefits from resting. One bite and I knew it had been worth the time and effort. In fact, the leftovers were even better the next day, as the chicken had absorbed even more of the flavor.

I always serve this dish over rice. I used jasmine rice; even though we have basmati rice in the house, I just didn’t feel like going through the rinsing and soaking process that requires. I made my simple cucumber salad with cilantro and lime as a side.

I’m giving you “Lynn’s version” of this recipe, because the original makes so much. I’ve changed a few proportions, but it’s mostly half of the original. You can make this as spicy as you like. In her recipe, Julie Sahni uses just ground red pepper, but she talks about using paprika for a milder flavor while maintaining the color, and does just that in numerous recipes. So I had no qualms about including a smaller amount of cayenne and paprika to make up the difference.

Chicken in Onion Tomato Gravy

• Two pounds chicken pieces, bone-in, skinned (I used two thighs and one breast half cut into two pieces)
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil (I used canola oil)
• 3 cups thinly sliced onions
• 2 garlic, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 8 green (or 4 black) cardamom pods
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 3/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (see above)
• One 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3-4 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves

Heat oil in a large nonstick pan over high heat. Add the chicken pieces and sear them until they lose their pink color and get nicely browned on all sides, about 4-5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve in a bowl.

Reduce the heat to medium high and add the onions. Fry until they turn light brown, stirring constantly, about 20 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger during the last 5 minutes. Add cinnamon and cardamom and continue frying until the spices are puffy and begin to color, about 2 minutes. Add the turmeric, paprika, and cayenne, and stir rapidly for 10-15 seconds. Add tomatoes, along with the chicken, salt, and boiling water. Stir to mix, reduce heat and simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked and very tender, about 45 minutes, turning the chicken once during that time. If the sauce reduces too much, add a little water. Turn off the heat, and let the dish rest, covered, for at least one hour before serving. When ready to serve, heat thoroughly, fold in cumin chopped cilantro, check for salt, and serve. Makes 4 servings.

Happy eating!