Chicken Curry with Tomato and Green Chili Pepper

Wash and pat dry the chicken. Marinate with salt, 1 teaspoon turmeric and lime juice for about half an hour.

Grind the ginger and garlic into a paste.

Blend/puree hot green peppers and tomatoes. (do not use any water)

Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pot. Add the cracked black cardamom pods and the cumin seeds.

When the seeds sizzle add the ginger and garlic paste and fry for about 3-4 minutes at medium heat.

Add the chicken pieces (save the marinade) to the pot and cook the chicken on both sides – a few minutes each side till you start seeing brown spots on the chicken. (You might need to scrape the bottom of the pot a few times. If you feel the spice mix is getting burnt reduce the heat and sprinkle some water once in a while.)

Once the chicken has brown spots, add the tomato and the chili paste, salt and the 1 teaspoon of turmeric. Cover and simmer at medium heat till the chicken is almost done. Then uncover, add the marinade and cook till the sauce/gravy is of desired consistency -the sauce will not be very soupy and not clingy either. The sauce will also look more oily and the oil should be leaving the sides of the pan. There should be a couple of tablespoons of sauce for each chicken piece in the pot. The chicken should be tender and start coming out of the bone.

When done, add the garam masala , stir it in and cover till ready to serve. The curry may be re heated in the pot or transferred to the serving pan and heated in the microwave or oven.

Garnish with more sliced chili pepper. Serve with rice or any flat bread.