Pahari / Pahadi Chicken

Chicken pieces sauteed with ghee and light spice, then simmered in yogurt with mint and cilantro!

This is one dish that is not for the calorie conscious, but since I tilt a little to that category I’ve used less amounts of yogurt(whole milk yogurt). But when you make it for the first time,  use excess amounts of ghee(clarified butter) and yogurt :-)

I’ve been preparing this since couple of years and all my friends love it! The name of this dish explains that it is from the hilly areas (pahadi cuisine/kumaoni cuisines), those belonging to the Himalayan plateau. I had found this simple recipe while googling(years back), so I don’t know the exact source to mention here, but I've made my own changes to suit our taste!
For vegetarian version, substitute chicken with paneer(Indian cheese) and serve this dish with naan or pulav/pilaf!!!

Ingredients:
1 cup chicken, cubed
1 cup plain yogurt, whipped(can be increased upto 3 cups)
1/4 cup mint leaves, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro/coriander leaves, chopped
1 tbsp ghee(clarified butter) + 1 tbsp for garnish(optional)
2 - 3 green chilies, chopped
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
5 cardamoms, slightly cracked
5 cloves
3 in cinnamon, broken
salt to taste

Preparation Method:
1. Heat ghee in a pan and add the whole spices, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and sauté till a fragrant smell.
2. Add in the green chilies and sauté.
3. Add the chicken pieces and sauté/roast on high heat till they are almost starting to get brown. Add in the ginger garlic paste and sauté for few more minutes

4. Add in the chopped mint and cilantro leaves, whipped yogurt, salt and let it simmer till the chicken is cooked.
5. Once cooked, can add more whipped yogurt to get gravy like consistency.
6. Remove from flame, garnish with additional ghee and mint leaves
7. Serve with Nan bread or pulav/pilaf.
 
Preparation Time: 20 mins
Serves: 1 - 2