Patiala chicken recipe

By Sukhi Singh

March 10, 2017

Maaji (my great grandma) taught my mum to cook. Maaji came from an elite pedigree of Punjabi heritage and was a daughter of the Patiala Sadars. 

Stories we heard growing up were that she was gifted shoes made of silver at her wedding and the mahal (small palace) she lived in once she got married had a fourth floor dedicated to her to keep prying eyes away from this beautiful lady. 

The mahal is crumbling away as all the family live abroad and don’t visit, but what is left are stories from the flamboyant past of my family. 

What does live on is what Maaji taught my mum, which is the love for food that my mum has now passed on to me.

I share with you a fourth-generation recipe that still lives on today and allows you to get a glimpse of what opulence really is. This is food with a story, heritage and love. Enjoy.

Directions

1Add the ghee to a karahi and heat on high heat. Add the cumin seeds and the ghee will start to foam. After a minute, when the sweet aroma of cumin comes through, add the sliced onions and salt and cook for 8 minutes or until the onions are caramelised. 

2Add the ginger and garlic paste and cook for 2 minutes. Keep stirring all the time to avoid anything sticking and burning. 

3Add the tomatoes, cashew nuts and water to a blender to form a paste. Add this to the onion mixture and cook for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and keep stirring, as I have found it catches the bottom of the karahi easily. 

4Add the coriander powder, chilli powder, cumin powder and turmeric and cook for a further 4 minutes. 

5Add the chicken pieces and cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. This will be a mini workout but you’ll thank me when you’re eating it.

6Add the garam masala, cardamom powder and dried fenugreek leaves and stir. Reduce to a low heat, cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

7Add the fresh coriander, mix well and serve.

Ingredients

4 tbsp ghee

2 tsp cumin seeds

4 red onions, finely sliced

1 1/2 tsp salt

5 fresh tomatoes

2 tbsp ginger paste

2 tbsp garlic paste

60 g cashew nuts

60 ml water

1 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder

1 1/2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp coriander powder

1 kg boneless chicken thighs, small pieces

1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves

1/2 tsp green cardamom powder

1 tsp garam masala

4 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped

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9 Reviews

Kulj

August 9, 2017

I tried your recipe for the first time today. The chicken is great. Will be trying a lot more recipes!

Kulj

August 9, 2017

Tried your recipe for thr first time today. Great!! Will be trying a lot more. Thanks Sukhi

irene

May 3, 2017

I made this today and everyone loves it! Mine doesn’t look like yours, but tastes delicious anyway. Thanks for being generous with your family recipe.

Sukhi Singh

May 2, 2017

Thanks, look forward to hearing how other recipes work out for you!!

Roohi Ibrahim

May 2, 2017

Hi chef. Been following you on instagram for a while now. Just made Patiala Chicken today. It turned out lip smackingly, finger lickingly delicious . Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. Will be trying out the other recipes too.
Cheers.

Sukhi Singh

March 15, 2017

All the best with it!! 🙂

Sukhi Singh

March 15, 2017

Let me know how you get on!!

Rajarshi Guha

March 12, 2017

Looks awesome ,planned to cook on a weekend

Anjali Das

March 11, 2017

My mouth started watering just reading the recipe. Definitely trying this out soon.

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