Chicken steeped in saffron and red chillies from Indian cook Mallika Basu

This week Mallika Basu serves up Zaffrani Murgh, a creamy chicken stew with a chilli kick
Mallika Basu
Mallika Basu23 September 2015

The simple flavours of whole deep and dark spices really offset this creamy chicken stew bursting with the heat of chillies and the aroma of saffron. And as London’s Festival of Heat is about to commence (September 27), a note about some of the chillies used Indian cooking seems well timed.

The chillies used in Zaffrani Chicken are dry, red chillies. Used in hot oil as tempering for vegetables or dal, they are relatively subtle in their influence. Stewing them, in the case of this stew, makes them altogether more fiery. We also use green chillies (also sold as finger chillies or rocket chillies). These pack a punch in terms of heat and flavour. If you can’t handle too much heat, just use fewer – it’s criminal to deseed them and waste their flavour quotient. A less punchy option is Kashmiri Chilli, which is closer to paprika in terms of heat and used more for smoky flavour and colour.

Whatever you do when cooking and eating with Indian chillies, remember to wash your hands thoroughly (dishwashing liquid works well) after handling. Also, keep some full fat milk or natural yoghurt handy – the casein in it neutralizes the burning sensation caused by chillies.

Ingredients (feeds 4)

• 750gm skinned chicken thighs and drumsticks

• 10 cloves garlic

• 2 inches ginger

• Half tsp white sugar

• 4 black cardamoms

• 6 dry red chillies

• 2 large bay leaves

• 20 whole black peppers

• 1 large onion

• 250gm Greek style yoghurt

• 1 tsp saffron strands

• 2 tbsp whole milk

• 2 tbsp oil

• Salt to taste

Method

Peel and chop the garlic and ginger roughly. Slice the onion lengthwise thickly. Place the yoghurt in a mixing bowl and give it a good stir. Now, add in the chicken pieces, the ginger, garlic, whole red chillies and onions, with a teaspoon of salt. Leave this to marinade overnight if you can, bringing it back to room temperature when you’re ready to cook.

When you’re ready to cook, bring a large saucepan to medium heat with the oil. When it’s warm, add the sugar, bay leaves, peppers and cardamoms to it. When they sizzle up, stir in the chicken with its marinade. Give it all a good mix, add a cup of water and stew on a gentle boil for at least 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. This should take about 20 minutes. Lower the heat to a simmer.

Now, warm the milk gently in the microwave or in a little saucepan and add in the saffron threads. As the milk turns golden, pour it over the chicken along with the threads. Check for salt and add more if you need to.

This lightweight stew is lovely with steaming hot basmati rice. Maybe make some Raita to go with it?

The Festival of Heat, London’s chilli festival is on September 27. More details and tickets: thefestivalofheat.co.uk/

Mallika Basu is a London-based food writer, cookbook author and cookery personality; quickindiancooking.com. Follow her on Twitter @MallikaBasu_ and find more of her recipes for the Evening Standard here.

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