Name: Chicken with tamarind and palm sugar
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: zest and juice of 2 limes; 4 green cardamom pods; 5 ml/1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns; 5 ml/1 tsp cumin seeds; 2 dried red chillies; 10 ml/2 tsp coriander seeds; 1 chicken, about 1.3 kg/3 lb; 7.5 ml/1½ tsp salt; 4 kaffir lime leaves, shredded; 2.5 cm/1 in piece of cinnamon stick; 2 brown cardamom pods, bruised; 8 garlic cloves; 60 ml/4 tbsp mustard or sunflower oil; 30 ml/2 tbsp tamarind pulp; 15 ml/1 tbsp palm sugar (jaggery), grated; 1 bay leaf; 4 fresh green chillies, halved lengthways (deseeded if preferred); 200 g/7 oz canned chopped tomatoes; 5 ml/1 tsp ground turmeric; 2 onions, roughly chopped; Plain Boiled Rice, to serve; 30 ml/2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander (cilantro); 25 g/1 oz fresh root ginger, chopped

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Complete Indian Regional Cookbook

By Mridula Baljekar

Published 2017

About

The origins of this recipe, Naram Kukhura Ko Masu, lie in Nepal, just across the border, but it is popular among most of the tribal states in north-east India. The use of Sichuan pepper is also an external influence, drawn from neighbouring China. The tart flavour of tamarind combined with the caramel sweetness of palm sugar gives a pleasing sweet and sour slant to the dish.