Originating from the Pakistani quarter in Birmingham UK, during the 1960’s. This is without doubt, my most popular dish amongst friends and testament to this supremely tasty aromatic dish, rarely is any left for the next day. This is a simple, but unequivocally rewarding meal. It is simple to make. I prefer to marinade the chicken, the day before. The longer the chicken infuses, the tastier it becomes. This is the fruitiest, tangiest curry loaded with aromatic meat that just melts in your mouth and tastes so good. There is of course no pungent garlic to mask the true fragrant flavours of this mouth-watering Balti curry.
Perfect for any season, the secret of this tasty dish is to plan in advance to ensure adequate time is given to let the marinating process do its job properly.
Ingredients
- 2 lb (900 g) of skinned and boned chicken thighs
- 25 mm (1”) of fresh ginger grated
- 14 fl oz (4 x 400 ml) cans of chopped tomatoes
- 2 jars of no garlic mango chutney
- 4 tbsp of garem masala
- ½ a cup of red wine
- 1 tbsp of ground cumin
- 3 sprigs of fresh coriander
- 3 tbsp of green cardamom seeds
- 1 tsp of sea salt
- 4 oz (100 ml) of red wine
- 1 x chicken stock cube
- 4 oz (100 g) of fresh Greek yoghurt
- 8 plain naan breads (bought locally)
- 1 whole chopped red pepper
- 1 handful of plain sundried tomatoes
- 10 sliced shitake mushrooms
- A few glugs of olive oil or rapeseed oil
- Small 8 oz (200 g) of fresh Greek style yoghurt
- 25 mm (1”) of fresh ginger grated
- 1 tbsp of garem masala
- 1 tsp of turmeric
- 1 tsp of sea salt
- Mix all the ingredients of the marinade mix and stir by hand. Add in the chopped chicken thighs. Cover with plastic film and pop in the fridge. Ideally, leave overnight or for at least 30-40 minutes before continuing with the recipe.
- Using a large saucepan, add the olive oil over a high heat on the hob.
- When the oil is sizzling, add the ginger and green cardamom seeds and fry on a medium heat, turning ingredients over for about 3 minutes.
- Now add the wine and heat for about 3 minutes, stirring regularly until reduced by a third.
- Add and crumble the chicken stock cube into the wine mix and stir in thoroughly.
- Now add the tins of chopped tomatoes and mango chutney and bring to the boil, stirring constantly, then immediately simmer on a low heat.
- Add the sea salt, sun dried tomatoes, red pepper, shitake mushrooms, garem masala and ground cumin. Stir in and bring to the boil. Then simmer on a low heat.
- Next, add the marinated chicken thighs and bring to the boil. Then immediately lower heat and simmer for 1½ hours, stirring occasionally.
- Add the Greek yoghurt, bring to the boil, then serve in Balti dishes immediately.
- Add fresh coriander leaves to garnish. Serve with hot naan bread. Enjoy!
