Sweet & Spicy Chicken Curry with Spring Onions

Chicken cooked with spring/green onions in sweet and spicy masala !

“No”, I am not adding any sugar or honey in this recipe, nor is it any version of chinese or indo-chinese recipe.It is the use of spices like fennel seeds, star anise, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, cardamom and cinnamon, all the spices that are used in desserts and impart a sweet flavor to a dish. I was actually craving for a something sweet, but didn’t want too, as had enough of tea and coffee with sugar for the day! And I wanted something spicy too and so this combination !

So this dish came off my imagination to include all the sweeter spices, and use of curry leaves for tempering. Curry leaves along with green onions & tomatoes also impart a kind of sweet flavor to the dish. Toasting of fennel seeds along with other spices accentuates the aroma of this dish that will fill the room! Do expect to hear from someone, “What's cooking ?”. Substitute chicken with paneer for vegetarian version.Sending this to RV and Sunita’s  Think Spice- Think Poppy Seeds

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken ~(500g), cubed
4 cups spring onions, chopped (separate some whites) (optional or use regular onions)
1 tomato, chopped
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp red chili powder
1/8 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp oil
1 strand of curry leaves
salt to taste
Dry roast and grind
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp poppy seeds
2 in cinnamon stick
5 – 6 green cardamoms
2 – 3 cloves
1 star anise
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp black peppercorns



                                       some of the spices used
Preparation Method:
1. Combine chicken with ginger-garlic paste, chili powder, salt and turmeric and let marinate for 5 – 10 minutes or more.
2. Heat oil in a pan, add in the curry leaves, whites of spring onions and marinated chicken and sauté for few minutes. Add in the tomatoes and and remaining spring onions and sauté for few mins.
3. Add the finely ground masala, some water and let it cook for 10 – 15 mins.
4. Remove and serve with Chapati/Naan.


Preparation Time: 20 mins
Serves: 2 - 4


Note: Add more tomatoes and regular onions if you need more gravy or gravy like consistency.