Methi Chicken

Hello boys and girls!

Welcome to cooking with Varun! You know how grown-ups are always saying, 'Eat your vegetables!', or 'You need more green leafy vegetables in your diet!' and you're thinking, 'Umm.. No thank you, I'm fine with my chicken!'. Then there's people who try to convince you to try 'different' things, knowing full well that you want nothing to do with them, 'Beta karela kha lo. It's not that bitter. Accha lagega.', and you're still thinking, 'Umm.. No thank you, I'm fine with my chicken!'. Yes? Well then this recipe is for you! It offers a wonderful combination of a very underrated green leafy vegetable that is ever so slightly bitter to the taste, and tender juicy chicken that when cooked together with the right spices will introduce you to a whole new world of flavour.

I can't recall my mum making this (although I suspect she'll be calling me 'kanjar', when she reads this), but it is something that I have eaten a few times and enjoyed, and with some input from my mum and my own spin on things, I've come up with a recipe that I'm sure you'll like, and cook over and over.

The recipe is methi chicken; methi being fenugreek leaves and chicken being well.. chicken. Methi is native to the subcontinent and although you won't find it at your local grocery store abroad, you'll definitely find some at your friendly neighbourhood Indian store, probably sitting next to big bunches of dill and mint and spinach. So the next time you foreign types are in there to replenish your stock of all things 'subcontinenty', wander over to the fruit and veg aisle and pick up a couple of bunches of this bad boy. I promise, you won't be disappointed!

For my Methi Chicken you will need the following:

Chicken	400 gms
Methi (fenugreek leaves)	2 bunches
Onions	1.5 large
Tomatoes	2 medium to large (get nice red ones or open a tin)
Potatoes	2 medium
Green chillies	4
Cumin	1-2 tsp
Ginger garlic paste	1 tsp (I'd freshly chop it if I were you)
Dhaniya (coriander) powder	2 tsp
Jeera (cumin) powder	1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder	2-3 tsp
Haldi (turmeric)	pinch
Garam masala	big pinch
Amchoor (dry mango) powder	sprinkle
Salt	to taste
Water	1 cup
Oil

Prep:

1. Wash and cut the chicken.
2. Wash and roughly chop the methi.
3. Peel and quarter the potatoes.
4. Grate (or blitz) the onions.
5. Puree the tomatoes. (As always, watch out for the edge of the tin.)
6. Chop the chillies.
7. Mince the ginger.
8. Mince the garlic.

Method:

1. Turn on the gas.
2. Bung a pan on.
3. Splash in some oil.
4. Count to 20.
5. Throw in the cumin.
6. Slide the chillies in off the chopping board.
7. Watch a couple roll off the wrong side and roll under the pan or on the floor.
8. Try to get the bit under the pan with your fingers, pretending the heat doesn't bother you.
9. Burn fingers.
10. Give up.
11. Add in the ginger and garlic.
12. Breathe in the fresh aroma.
13. Add in the onions.
14. Dodge the spatter.
15. Cook until the onions get brown. (Not unlike the dusky beauty at the checkout counter of the Indian store.)
16. Drop the heat to low.
17. Sprinkle in the dhaniya powder, cumin powder and red chilli powder.
18. Pinch in the haldi and garam masala.
19. Mix well.
20. Cook until you're afraid the onions will burn.
21. Splash in some water.
22. Pour in the tomato puree.
23. Throw in the methi.
24. Cook until the oil separates from the tomatoes. (At this point, your methi will have started to shrivel.)
25. Pop in the chicken.
26. Plop in the potatoes.
27. Cook for a few minutes until the chicken goes white.
28. Add in a cup of water.
29. Shake in the salt.
30. Bump the heat up a notch.
31. Put the lid on.
32. Hang around idly for about 15-20 minutes.
33. Take the lid off.
34. Wipe the steam from your glasses.
35. Cook without the lid until the gravy reaches the desired consistency.
36. Turn the gas off.
37. Sprinkle of the amchoor.
38. Serve with rotis.
39. Stuff face.
40. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: Onions cook quicker if you sprinkle some salt on them. So if you're in a rush or just impatient, sprinkle some salt on the onions when you drop them into the oil. Remember to add less salt later to compensate. Taste as you cook.

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!