Mughlai Chicken with Rice Pulau

Kirsten of Dine & Dish is the founder of the Adopt a Blogger program. Bloggers that have been blogging for a year or more are paired with a "newbie" blogger to answer any questions they might have and to help them to enjoy the experience of blogging. I would have loved it if this program were in place when I first started blogging. Not that I didn't find many very helpful and generous bloggers out there willing to answer a question or two about what may seem like the simplest of things for a seasoned blogger. It is a constant learning experience even now.

I was paired with the talented and intuitive N33ma at Recipe Swap . We have in fact adopted each other because she is attempting to demistify East Indian cooking for me with all it's exotic spices and melding of intricate flavours. We both love chicken, so, I decided to start with her families' favourite dish Mughlai Chicken. N33ma's original recipe can be found here . N33ma says, "I have never made Mughlai chicken in India. I made it only after we moved to the States. In India there are so many restaurants that you don't really need to make such dishes at home but many do make them. The first time I made this it was amazing!! I was so glad that it came out better than what I expected. My husband and friends love the dish and I make it for our parties too."

To have the flavours meld together I allowed the dish to sit for a few hours and served it up later in the day with a Rice Pulau. It was tubular...that's the valley girl in me!!! Creamy and flavourful with tender bites of chicken. This is the very first East Indian dish I have prepared with the exception of Raita and Tandoori Chicken on the BBQ. Thank you N33ma!!!

**Mughlai Chicken**

(1-inch) piece ginger, peeled
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
4 tablespoons ground almonds
1/2 cup water
5 cardamom pods, bruised
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
2 bay leaves
4 cloves
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 pounds boned chicken thighs, each cut into 2
2 onions, finely chopped
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sultanas (golden raisins)
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup flaked almonds, toasted, to garnish

**********************
Put the ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander, and chili into a food processor, or into a mortar and pestle, and blend to a paste. Add the ground almonds and water and then blend again, set aside.
Heat the oil in a large pan and add the chicken pieces - in batches so they fry rather than stew - and cook them just long enough to seal on both sides, then remove to a dish.

Add the spices and turn them in the oil. Add the onions and cook them until softened and lightly browned, but keep the heat gentle and stir frequently, to avoid sticking. Pour in the blended paste, and cook everything until it begins to colour. Add the yogurt, half a cup at a time stirring it in to make a sauce, then stir in the stock, cream, and sultanas.

Put the browned chicken back into the pan, along with any juices that have collected under them, and sprinkle over the garam masala, sugar, and salt. Cover and cook on a gentle heat for 20 minutes, testing to make sure the meat is cooked through.

It's at this stage, that I like to take the pan off the heat and leave it to cool before reheating later on in the day.

So either now, or when you've reheated it, pour into a serving dish and scatter with the toasted flaked almonds. Serve with Rice Pilau.

**Rice Pilau**

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves
3 cardamom pods, bruised
1 cinnamon stick, broken into 3
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon nigella seeds, optional
2 1/2 cups basmati rice
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted, for garnish
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

**************************
Cook the onion in the oil, in a deep saucepan with the cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, and nigella seeds, if using, until the onion is slightly browned and soft. Keep the heat medium to low and stir frequently; this should take about 10 minutes.

Add the rice and stir until it is slicked and glossy, then pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Cover the pan with a lid and cook over the lowest heat possible for 20 minutes.

Turn off the heat, take the lid off, cover with a tea towel and clamp the lid back on the saucepan. You can leave the rice to rest like this for at least 10 minutes, and up to about 1 hour. Run a fork through the rice when you are ready to serve it, scattering the toasted sliced almonds and cilantro on top.

NOTE: N33ma cooks by instinct, but I needed an actual recipe to recreate this dish. This dish comes from Nigella Lawson.