Chicken curry with Coriander leaves (Dhone Patta Chicken)

I was blog hopping and came across this mouth watering Bengali Chicken curry.

It was so tempting, that I ended up making this for dinner. As the name suggests, it is cooked with lots of fresh coriander leaves and therefore the gravy is very light and refreshing . 

I enjoyed having this with some hot rice.

Ingredients to marinate the chicken:

2 chicken breasts with bones

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp  ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

1/4 tsp  turmeric

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp cumin powder

Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and marinate it with the above ingredients. 

Leave it in the fridge for 1-2 hrs.

Ingredients for the coriander paste:

3 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp of chopped ginger                                              

4 green chillies
1/3 cup of chopped coriander leaves

Some water

Blend these ingredients in a blender with very little water and keep aside.

Remaining ingredients:

1-2 tsp of Panch Phoron

2-3 dried red chillies

1 red onion chopped              

3-4 shallots cubed

1 tomato chopped

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp of chilli powder

2 cups of fresh coriander chopped roughly

1-2 cups of water

2-3 tsp of oil

Salt to taste

Preparation:

Heat a shallow pan on medium fire. Add 2-3 tsps of oil to the pan. 

When the oil gets heated, add the Panch phoron and wait for it to sizzle. 

Add the onions and saute them till it becomes translucent and light brown in color. 

Now add the coriander paste that was blended.

Saute this till the raw smell goes away. 

To this, add the tomatoes and wait till the tomatoes get cooked well. 

Add the spice powders (turmeric, chilli powder, coriander and cumin) and mix well. 

Fry this masala well till the oil separates. Use low heat to avoid any burning. 

Now add the marinated chicken and the chopped coriander leaves to this and mix well. 

Add some salt and 1-2 cups water to cook the chicken. Close it with a lid and let it simmer until you see a layer of oil  forming on top of the curry. Garnish with some coriander leaves.

Serve with hot steamed rice. It indeed was COMFORT food!