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Kalonji Chicken

Tender chunks of chicken cooked in a fresh and spicy sauce loaded with Nigella seeds, tomatoes, onions, coriander, cumin and chilli; Kalonji Chicken is my new favourite curry.

Course Dinner, Lunch, Supper
Keyword cherry tomatoes, chicken, curry, Nigella seeds, spring onions
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

For the chicken and marinade –

  • 700g skinless chicken breasts or thighs
  • 110g natural yoghurt
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon fine salt

For the sauce –

  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons Nigella seeds or black onion seeds
  • 400g – 450g/2 large onions, peeled and finely chopped
  • 16g/4 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 16g peeled ginger, roughly chopped
  • 3 green chillies, stem removed and roughly chopped. (Remove seeds if you want to reduce the heat a little.)
  • 375g/6 medium tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon cumin powder
  • 1 tablespoon coriander powder
  • 1 – 2 teaspoons chilli powder – depending on how you like it and the strength of your chilli powder
  • 250ml chicken or vegetable stock

To serve:

  • 1 teaspoon Nigella seeds or black onion seeds
  • 15g chopped fresh coriander
  • basmati rice and/or naan bread

Instructions

  1. First chop the chicken and marinade – chop the chicken into small cubes and place in a mixing bowl. Add the yoghurt, turmeric, salt and lemon juice.

  2. Mix well, cover and set aside for a minimum of 30 minutes or up to overnight in the fridge.

  3. Make the sauce – heat a cast iron casserole over a moderately high heat and cook 1 teaspoon Nigella seeds for around 30 seconds. Tip out of the pan and set aside until you are ready to serve the curry.

  4. Peel and chop the onions – I like mine finely chopped and I do so quickly in a food processor.

  5. Heat the oil in a cast iron casserole over a moderately high heat and cook the 2 teaspoons Nigella seeds for around 1 minute.

  6. Add the onions and stir well. Cook over a moderate heat for around 20 minutes, stirring from time to time until very soft and lightly caramelised. You may need to turn the heat down the longer the onions cook. You can reduce the cooking time to 10 minutes if you are short of time, but the longer cooking time really brings out the sweetness in the onions and makes an incredible sauce.

  7. Peel and finely chop the garlic and ginger. Remove the stem from the green chillies. If you want to remove some heat, discard the seeds as well. I pop everything into the food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

  8. When the onions are ready, add the garlic, ginger and chilli and cook, stirring from time to time, for 5 minutes.

  9. Peel the tomatoes – place in a jug or bowl and cover with boiling water for 1 minute. Drain and remove the skins. Chop in half, remove the stalks and roughly chop. Puree in a food processor.

  10. Next add the tomatoes and cook for a further 5 minutes.

  11. Tip in the spices, stir well and cook for 30 seconds.

  12. Now add the chicken in yoghurt, stir well and cook for 10 minutes, until the chicken is sealed partially cooked.

  13. Pour in the stock and cook for around 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. If it looks like it is reducing too much, put the lid on. Taste and adjust seasoning.

  14. Turn off the heat and leave for a few minutes before you serve garnished with nigella seeds and chopped coriander. Delicious with rice and/or naan.

Recipe Notes

Equipment:

  • kitchen scales and measuring spoons
  • chopping board and knife
  • mixing bowl
  • cast iron casserole
  • food processor