Chicken with poppy seeds in chilli sauce

Name: Chicken with poppy seeds in chilli sauce
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 675 g/1½ lb boned chicken skinless thighs or breast fillets; juice of 1 lime; 60 ml/4 tbsp sunflower or light olive oil; 1 large onion, finely chopped; 4 cloves; 4 green cardamom pods, bruised; 2.5 cm/1 in piece of cinnamon stick; 2.5 ml/½ tsp ground turmeric; 3 garlic cloves, crushed, or 15 ml/1 tbsp garlic purée; 2 fresh green chillies, finely chopped (deseeded if preferred); warm Indian bread, to serve; 1 fresh green chilli, thinly sliced, to garnish; 30 ml/2 tbsp white poppy seeds; 2.5 ml/½ tsp chilli powder; 5 ml/1 tsp salt, or to taste

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Complete Indian Regional Cookbook

By Mridula Baljekar

Published 2017

About

Bengalis make good use of locally grown spices such as ginger, turmeric, mustard and chillies, and the cuisine includes spice combinations not found in other parts of India. White poppy seeds are a popular addition and, in this dish, Murgi Posto, they are roasted and ground and used to thicken the spicy sauce.

Ingredients

675 g/1½ lb boned chicken skinless thighs or breast fillets
juice of 1

Asia
India
West Bengal
Main course
Spicy

Method

Cut the chicken into 2.5cm/1in cubes, put in a bowl and sprinkle with the lime juice and half the salt. Stir to coat, then cover and leave to marinate for 30 minutes.
Heat the oil in a large, heavy frying pan over a low heat and add the cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Let them sizzle for a few seconds, then add the onion and chillies and increase the h