Punjabi Chicken Curry from 'Indian As Apple Pie'

Indian As Apple Pie airs on WTTW Saturdays at 4:00 pm and is available to stream via the PBS app.
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One of the biggest Western misunderstandings of Indian cuisine is curry. It's not a spice blend, it's a gravy. And not every Indian sauce or gravy is the cream-thickened consistency of butter chicken; some are thinner and less rich while still packing plenty of flavor, like this Punjabi chicken curry. Anupy Singla goes into all these topics in the second episode of her new cooking show Indian As Apple Pie and demonstrates the curry, which is a taste of home to her: her family comes from Punjab. "Sometimes all you need is a little bowl of the perfect curry to get through it all," she says of the recipe. Try it below. 

Punjabi Chicken Curry from Scratch

Dahi, or Indian yogurt, is slightly tart and thinner than mainstream options — it can be found in Indian grocery stores. If you can’t find it, no worries: regular yogurt is fine. 

If using bone-in, cut chicken into 10 pieces (split the breast). If using boneless, cut into large chunks. Scoring each piece with a fork or knife allows for maximum flavor absorption. I made this recipe using 3 pounds of chicken because that is the weight of an average whole chicken for bone-in. Feel free to reduce the amount of chicken and scale back the other ingredients as well. Or, make it as is and freeze a portion.

Ingredients

For the marinade:
1/2 cup plain, unsweetened yogurt (Indian dahi), not Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon red chile powder or cayenne
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 pounds skinless chicken, bone-in or boneless, scored

For the curry:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or ghee (or combination); mustard oil works well too
1 pinch hing (asafoetida), optional
1 cinnamon stick
6 whole cloves
3 bay leaves
2 black cardamom pods
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 small yellow or red onion, minced or pureed
1-inch piece ginger, minced or pureed
3 cloves garlic, minced or pureed
1 medium tomato, pureed (no peel) or diced (with peel)
1 tablespoon unsalted tomato paste
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon red chile powder or cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons kasoori methi (dried fenugreek), hand crushed to release flavor
2 teaspoons salt
1-4 fresh Thai or 1 serrano chile(s), stems removed and sliced down the middle
1-3 cups boiling water, divided
2 tablespoons additional ghee, optional

Directions

1. For the marinade: In a large bowl, add the yogurt, turmeric, red chile, black pepper, and salt; stir until combined. Add the chicken and stir again until all the pieces are evenly coated with the marinade. Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 1 hour to overnight — the longer it marinates, the deeper the flavor. Once ready to cook, pull the chicken from the fridge to rest on the counter until ready to use. You don’t want to leave raw meat on the counter too long, but also want to avoid placing very cold chicken directly into a hot pan.

2. For the curry: In a heavy medium-sized saute pan (about 4-quarts), heat 2 tablespoons of the oil or ghee (or a combination) until warm. Add the hing, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, cardamom, cumin, and turmeric; stir and cook for about 40 seconds until the seeds sizzle. Add the onion; stir and cook for 3 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic; stir and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato and tomato paste; stir and cook for 1 minute, breaking down the paste with the back of a spoon or spatula.

3. Carefully transfer the chicken pieces (not the extra marinade) to the pan in a single layer and cook for 1 minute before flipping and doing the same on the other side. Now add any remaining marinade, the garam masala, coriander, red chile, methi, salt, fresh chiles, and 1 cup of water. It’s important to add the water slowly and let it cook off to better ‘build’ your curry or gravy. Also, using boiling hot water versus room temperature water avoids lowering the cooking temperature.

4. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook partially covered for 5 minutes until the curry starts to thicken. Add more water a 1/2 - 1 cup at a time, and continue to simmer. The range of water needed can vary — remember chicken releases water as well. Cook boneless chicken for a total of 10 minutes and bone-in for a total of 45 minutes, including the initial 5 minutes cook time. The internal temperature of the chicken should reach 165°F / 74°C. When done, turn the heat off, add the 2 tablespoons of ghee if using — for brightness and flavor — and completely cover the pan. Let it sit on the same burner for about 10 minutes. Remove and discard the cinnamon stick, cloves (if you can’t find them - no worries), bay leaves, and cardamom pods. All the other spices are edible. Serve with basmati rice or Indian bread like roti or naan.