Chicken in a Yoghurt Marinade with Coriander / Cilantro / Dhania

That's me with Priya, who taught me north Indian cuisine, in her kitchen at Al Yamamas, Saudi Arabai

My first set of international recipes were given and demonstrated to me by Priya, whose Hindu parents left the mountainous north of what is now Pakistan at Partition in 1947 and settled in what was then known as Bombay, and which has subsequently been renamed Mumbai. (Incidentally, since Bollywood is named after the movie industry based in the former Bombay, I was longing for them to start dubbing it Mollywood after the name change to Mumbai - but, alas! no such sense of humour has been evinced by the Indian move-making industry).

Priya spent an enormous amount of time with me, teaching me a number of culinary 'rules of thumb', and the post, North Indian Cuisine: Basics is probably worth reading before, or as an adjunct to this and other recipes, since it goes over some of the basics of this fascinating and multi-layered cuisine.

Priya is a Sindh, which refers to a geographical region encompassing both Muslims and Hindus, but the term "Sindh" can also be used to refer to her sect, many of whom are traditionally traders. Her father owns a chemical factory, but she is a fashion and jewellery designer (which career her family allowed her to pursue only once she had the requisite business degree behind her name). Her husband Sanjay is a biomedical engineer, working predominantly with the high-level PET and CAT-scan medical machinery. They have a two-year old daughter, Lahar (pronounced Lahair) whose grandparents have already bought her a trolley and cash machine so she can learn to play ‘shop’.

Lahar in traditional dress

This dish which Priya taught me is one that does take more than the usual amount of time, but, if you have a lazy Sunday on your hands, then it is well worth making this dish for the family to enjoy. 

Chicken Marinated in a Coriander Yoghurt, with Ginger, Chilli and Garlic

Specialist equipment: 

A blender is a definite must! Although you can chop by hand, it will never be sufficiently fine a blend for the particular flavours of the dish to come out. I have tried it both ways. The more blended approach is so far superior it even tastes different (however, I am afraid to say I often simply revert to the 'rustic' approach of larger pieces when in a hurry).

Time taken:

Actual preparation time is about 1 hour, depending on the equipment used. However, you need to prepare everything well in advance, since the chicken needs to soak in the marinade for about three hours before cooking. The longest time taken is that of picking the leaves off the coriander. This is therefore the kind of dish that it is nice to prepare with a friend

Coriander Yoghurt Chicken Marinade

6 chicken breasts (or the equivalent quantity in other cuts of chicken meat), skinned and cut into chunks with the bone still attached.

1 1/2 tablespoons of caraway seeds (also known as Shah Jeera or Fullajeeri)

1 big thumb of fresh ginger (Fem’s thumb, not mine - i.e., a large thumb must be used)

6 big cloves of garlic (the giant-sized ones) (i.e., a ratio of one clove per chicken breast)

1 fresh green chilli per person 

Salt - one teaspoon

Coriander leaves - Three woosie (small) packets South African coriander leaves, one large packet of those you find in the Middle East

Juice of 1/2 lemon

3 very heaped tablespoons plain yoghurt (one small punnet of yoghurt) 

Place caraway, ginger and garlic in blender and grind to medium-fine consistency. (You can do it in a mortar and pestle if you really feel like being a martyr). The quantity of ginger:garlic is in a ratio of 1:1. That should be of great help in ascertaining relative proportions, particularly given discrepancies in thumb-sizes and garlic cloves. 

Add 1 fresh green chilli per person who will be partaking of your delicious meal, if they like their food fairly hot. Again, some experimentation with relative chilli heat is required - I’d advise 1/2 a chilli per person with regards to the little hot green Durban chillies. You will be putting in the entire chilli - seeds and all, into the mixture, so err on the side of caution. Grind chilli into mixture. Put in marinade bowl if you have a small blender. 

The caraway, ginger, garlic and green chilli mixture represents a basic paste which is used for meat dishes (cumin is used in vegatarian dishes). This basic paste doesn’t change, all that changes is the other spices that are added to it.

Having spent about half an hour or so stripping individual leaves from the coriander (the stalks cause kidney stones and all kinds of other problems, so Pria informs me) you will place the fruits of your labours into the blender, and grind these leaves up medium-fine too. The coriander should have yielded you about a cup of leaves in total. Mayhap your cup will overfloweth somewhat and that's just fine too. 

Coriander, also known as cilantro or dhania, is central to this dish

Add juice of 1/2 lemon to the mixture and stir in all the above ingredients into the yoghurt. Place chicken chunks into this marinade. You will leave the chicken to absorb the spices and to be tenderised in the fridge over a 2-3 hour period. The chicken should be cut into pieces about twice bite-size, with the bone attached, for added flavour. You would probably de-skin the chicken since it would just get all slimy otherwise. 

Chicken in yoghurt marinade with garlic, ginger, carraway and coriander

Coriander Yoghurt Chicken Cooking Ingredients

2 to 3 medium-sized onions

1 stick cinnamon 

3-6 whole cloves (the spice, that is)

3 bay loves, crumbled a bit (not a lot)

3-4 medium-sized tomatoes

1 teaspoon turmeric

The concept of ‘balance’ is important also with regard to the proportions of onions to tomatoes, again, the ratio is 1:1. Just remember, though, that both of them reduce significantly, especially the onion. The little red “Indian” onions, with a more pungent taste are best to utilise, if you can get hold of them. 

Chop the onions fine. Not to a puree, but fairly fine - much much finer than you probably are used to, unless of course, you hail from Northern Indian parts yourself. You may cry a lot at this time. I always do, especially with the little red ones. Saute until caramelised, what Priya referred to as medium-brown and I thought was dark brown. Peanut butter oil is the best or most traditional oil to use for this dish, but corn oil is an adequate substitute. I, of course, use ghee when I can (it's more pukkah of course). 

Browned onions with ground-up cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves

The stick of cinnamon and the cloves should be ground up in the blender. Again, everything is fresh, fresh, fresh. But not too finely ground to a powder, you are looking for something more coarse than that). Heat cinnamon and cloves in the oil to let their oils begin expressing their flavour. 

Just before you add the tomato, add bay leaves, then add the tomatoes, also ground to a paste. Once it has begun reducing in the pan, add the chicken marinade mixture. 

Coriander chicken marinade added to the onions and tomato sauce cooking in the pan

Do yourself a favour, and hover over the pan, simply absorbing the fresh, wonderful smells that are rising. 

Bring to boil. Turn down to simmer. The cooking time should be between 20 and 30 minutes since the marinade has already partially “cooked” and also has tenderised the chicken.

Serve with basmati rice, preferably yellow. Tumeric is increasingly touted as an important spice to add delight to one's eyes and relish to one's food and even has important health benefits too. 

Eat to your heart's content. Make sure that you finish the entire dish that night since it does not store very well or freeze particularly well either (though my husband is not impartial to having yesterday's left-overs for his lunch).

Coriander chicken with rice, sprinkled with chillies

Yes, I know the chillies should be incorporated into the dish at stage one, but my kids aren't yet fully into hot dishes, and hence my husband and I tend to sprinkle the chillies on afterwards -