CHICKEN CURRY [WITH A CLAY POT]

If you have never tried cooking in a clay pot before, you may want to think about giving it a try. There are a lot of advantages including juicer meats and poultry, low fat cooking, and my favourite one-pot –meals that makes clean up easy.

One day me and my hubby were just roaming in the market place and just found this clay pot at a roadside vendor. We were just searching for this from last few days as we came to know that whole cooking clay set is available these days. We immediately bought it and then started to discover the recipes that can be prepared in clay pot. I initially learned about them when I received a clay pot. As the vendor advised to keep this pot immersed in water for three days and then ready to use.

Do you know clay pot cooking goes back thousands of years and was used by most of the early civilizations including the Romans and Chinese. You can find a variety of sizes and shapes of clay pots based on ancient designs still being used in Spain, France and North Africa.

Today, clay pots and one-pot cookery is making a comeback in the US and home cooks like us are rediscovering how easy they are to use and love the results they are getting. I haven’t had much experience cooking in clay pots but gathering the information how to cook in clay pot from internet and all, so I plan to do a lot more. Here is a cooking style that allows for cooking just about anything you like slowly and gently while retaining the juice and flavour.

As a porous material, the clay in a pot that has been saturated with water slowly releases steam from its pores during the cooking. Juices released by the food as it cooks cannot escapes from the pot. This seals flavour and keeps food from drying out, without the need to add extra fats or liquids. Along with the flavour, essential nutrients and vitamins are retained in the food.

Advantages of cooking in clay pots…

*More juicy and flavourful when cooking meats and poultry.

*Crispier crusts when baking dreads.

*Prevent ingredients from drying out.

*Meat can be trimmed of fat.

*Chicken can be cooked without the skin.

*One-pot meals- chicken or meat can be cooked together with rice or potatoes and vegetables together.

How to use a clay pot ?

*Soak clay baker in water for 2-3 days i.e. for about 42 hours. Completely immerse both top and bottom.

*Where can you find classic clay bakers ?

*There are a number of major cookware outlets that sell clay bakers. You can also search it on Amazon.com. There you will find a large assortment of clay bakers in all sizes and shapes as well as clay pot cookbooks and accessories.

*Finally, if you are looking for an alternative cooking method that’s both natural and healthy, you’ll want to explore the world of one-pot clay cooking.

INGREDIENTS:

500 gm Chicken, skinless

2-3 tablespoon Onion-Coconut Paste

2 teaspoon Ginger-Garlic Paste

3-4 Garlic Cloves Finely Chopped

4-5 Green Chillies [cut lengthwise]

1 Medium Onion Finely Sliced

1 Tomato Cut in Big Sized pieces

2 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder

½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder

Salt as required

2 teaspoon Garam Masala

2 teaspoon Dry Coriander Powder

1-2 Bay Leaf

1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds

1 teaspoon Mustard Seeds

5-6 Cashew Nuts

Fresh Coriander Chopped

Water

METHOD:

 STEP 1 - First wash the chicken pieces under a running water.

STEP 2 -  Put the clay pot over heat on a low flame. Add oil to it and then add cumin-mustard seeds and let them splutter.

 STEP  3 – Add onion coconut paste and ginger garlic paste and sauté for 1 minute and then add green chillis, cubed tomato and chopped onion, chopped garlic  and grated ginger to it and cook well for 3-4 minutes.

STEP 4 – Now add dry spices one-by-one and sauté well. Finely add chicken pieces, mix properly and cover for a minute or two.

STEP 5 – Add water sufficient water and cook. It will be cooked on low flame only, it will take almost 1 hour to cook properly. Do check and if done then add chopped coriander and after 1 minute switch off the flame and chicken curry is ready to serve.

           Serve the hot chicken curry with chapatti, bhakri or simply with steamed rice. 

NOTE: Keep the flame low while cooking. It may crack your clay pot on high flame so to avoid that keep the flame low.