Last night I wanted a Chicken Madras but had no base sauce to hand so I improvised with some basic ingredients to form a quick base sauce. This was delicious.
Ingredients
2-3 Chicken Breasts cut into cubes
3 tbsp oil
1 Onion finely chopped
1 tsp Ginger grated
1 tsp Garlic finely chopped
3 tomatoes cut into quarters
2 fresh green finger chillies finely sliced
2-3 tbsp plain yogurt
2 tsp red chilli powder (Deghi Mirch) (add more if you like it hotter)
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp tomato puree
Pinch Methi (Fenugreek Leaves)
Good squeeze of Lemon Juice
1 tsp turmeric
Whole Garam Masala:
3 green cardamoms slightly cracked
6 black peppercorns
4 cloves
1 tsp cumin seeds
Heat some oil in a pan and add the turmeric. Fry gently for 30 seconds add the chicken and brown the meat on all sides then remove to a dish.
Boil the onions in some water until soft. Remove from the water and drain.
Base sauce:
Blend the yogurt, tomatoes and cooked onions to form a sauce, add a little water if too thick.
Heat the oil in a pan and add the garlic, ginger and green chillis and fry gently for 1 minute or until the garlic and ginger take on a slightly golden colour but not brown.
Add the whole Garam masala - Cardamoms, Peppercorns, Cloves and Cumin seeds and fry gently for about 1 minute.
Add the Red chilli powder, Coriander powder and Tomato puree and fry gently for around 30 seconds
Add the base sauce and fry for 5-6 minutes, add water to the consistency you require.
Add the Methi and Lemon juice and the Chicken and cook until the Chicken is done.