Bengali Style Curry Chicken

I decided to make this hearty chicken dish as I eyed the fresh chicken leg pieces in my fridge rack for everybody loves food that is cooked easily simply and tastes delicious on a weekend night.

For tempering we need:

Fenugreek seeds - about ten of them

Bay leaf - one or two

One stick of cinnamon, seven to eight cloves, seven to eight cardamoms - freshly ground into a powdery mixture. I usually have this done a lot prior to the cooking. It saves up on preparation time.

For marinating we need:

Chicken legs - eight to ten pieces skinned, washed, dried and given a few sharp cuts for the marinade to seep in

Tomato - about quarter of a cup

Coriander Powder - one tablespoon

Cumin Powder - one and a half teaspoons

Salt - as per taste

Turmeric Powder - one tablespoon

Chili Powder or Cayenne Pepper for color and flavor - one tablespoon

Onion Paste - one cup

Ginger/Garlic paste - about quarter of a cup

Yoghurt - two whole tablespoons

First foremost we need to cover well the chicken pieces in the spice marinade listed right above. Chuck it into the fridge and wait around for fifteen minutes to get marinated well. Meanwhile warm up a big wok with mustard oil and add the ingredients listed in the tempering section. Once the spices start to splutter and sizzle and leave aroma, bring out the chicken that's been marinating inside the fridge, ready to be made into a warm curry. Place them all evenly into the wok ensuring nothing spills out. Leave the marinade for later use. Nicely fry them well until the rawness of the spices disappear lending the chicken pieces almost half done. The rest of the marinade goes in now. Ensure that every bit of the spicy goodness has been scraped off of the container poured into the wok. Mix well thoroughly and let the spices come together in its rich flavor and release it's distinct aroma while you stir for a good ten minutes. Let the curry simmer away while on medium high. Secret to a good curry is in the way we keep stirring for as long as the spices do not turn homogenous in texture. When it all comes together we pour in a generous amount of boiling water over the leg pieces making it quite runny initially . Once it starts to boil add salt as per taste and close the lid off for twenty minutes more. Once the curry thickens to a desirable consistency you can turn off the flame.

The overall prep time is well under five minutes although cooking time is about forty five minutes approximately. Taste the meaty goodness with rice or hot chapatis and it goes well with both but I prefer them with rice mostly for Bengalis' stomach loves rice any given day.