Bangladeshi home cooking - Traditional chicken bhuna

*WARNING I forgot to show me adding the ginger and garlic so please use the recipe in the description if you do this at home!

If you were to be invited to a Bangladeshi house this would be sure to be on the menu! packed with flavour by using all the meat of the chicken. Be sure to try at home.

Serves 2
Cooking time: 45mins - 1 hour

Ingredients:

1/2 a cup of edible mustard oil
900g chicken parts (1 chicken)
2 tsp garlic paste
2 tsp ginger paste
5 cardamon pods
3 bay leaves
2 inch cinnamon
1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
4 grated tomatoes
1 heaped tsp panch poran
4 green chillies
2 medium sized onions - diced
1/2 a green pepper - diced
1 + 1/2 tsp salt

*Spice mix
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp cumin
1 + 1/2 tsp coriander powder

Make sure you have a large non stick pot that will fit your chicken pieces inside so that they can cook properly. Having a lid to this pan will help a lot.

Method:

Step 1, Add 1/2 a cup of edible mustard oil to the pot and turn the heat up to medium, let it begin to sizzle and add your "garam masala" spices, this is your 2 inch of cinnamon or cassia bark, your 3-4 bay leaves and your 5 Cardamom pods. We will also add our 1 heaped teaspoon of panch poran. Stir it around to mix everything before...

Step 2, Add 2 medium sized onions and half a green pepper, all of it diced. Add your 4 green chillies but remember to cut a little slice into them so their flavour is released. Stir everything till it's well mixed and then add your 1.5 tsp of salt and your 1 tablespoon of dried fenugreek leaves. Stir to combine before putting the lid on your pan and letting cook for 2 minutes.

Step 3, Check the progress of the onions, are they going brown and translucent? add a bit of water and move onto step 4.

if the onions are still a bit raw looking you can stir it and give it another 2 minutes with the lid on.

Step 4, Once the onions look nicely cooked you can add in the garlic and ginger paste! 2 teaspoons each and mix it into the dish and let it sizzle before adding your spices!
The spice mix is as follows: 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp garam masala powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1+1/2 tsp coriander powder.

Stir to combine and be careful that the powders don't burn as it's very quick to!
when its mixed in and becomes a lovely brown colour in the pot, you can add your 4 grated tomatoes or tin of chopped tomatoes. Stir well and let reduce for a ~3 minutes.

Step 5, If it looks like all the water has evaporated or if it looks a bit dry, add a splash of water! stir to prevent anything sticking to the pan. Repeat this step in 5 minutes and again 5 minutes after that

Step 6, ten minutes later you will have a rich sauce ready for your chicken! make sure to make cuts along the thicker parts of your chicken. gently add it to the pot and stir into your sauce.

Step 7, now all you are waiting for is the chicken to cook through in the sauce, add half a cup of water and cook for 15-20 minutes until the sauce has thickened up, check every few minutes and stir it but make sure the lid is on otherwise. You know its done when the sauce is thick and clings to the chicken. but don't reduce it to the point it starts to burn. serve over boiled rice or with a naan and enjoy!