Hello everybody.

No escape from cooking today I guess,though I was confused what to do after grocery shopping,I bought many vegetables and stuff so I have many options.

After family discussions I decided to do this recipe sent to me by my friend’s niece Hanin whom I saw the other day and everybody in her family recommended it, so chicken masala it is,since I have all ingredients which is the most important thing,sometimes I do cancel the whole dish cause one ingredient is missing,don’t  you?

This is an Indian recipe of course,most Indian food is usually hot and spicy,well today I made it medium so that all can eat with comfort,it turned out very delicious and easy.

Ingredients and method:

* 2 large chicken breasts ( original recipe says thighs but nobody in my family loves them,but breasts were good also),cut to big chunks.

* marinate for chicken:

* 1 cup yogurt.

* ginger garlic paste ( 1 tablespoon fresh ginger with 3 cloves garlic pressed or finely chopped together)

* 1 tsp salt.

* 1/2 tsp pepper.

* marinate chicken for at least 30 minutes or overnight if you can.

*Sauce:

* 2 tablespoons olive oil.

* 2 tablespoons butter.

*1/3 cup ginger garlic paste.

* 2 hot peppers (didn’t have any so I used hot dried chili )

* 2 tablespoons tomato paste.

* 1 tablespoons gram masala spices ( Indian spices bought ready or homemade by mixing special spices including : 2 tablespoons cumin seeds,2 tablespoons coriander seeds,1 tsp pepper seeds,2 tsp cardamon seeds,1 tsp cloves,1 tsp fennel seeds,1 cinnamon stick,3 bay leaves,1/2 tsp fenugreek (حلبه) ,pinch of nutmeg. you roast all seeds except nutmeg very well then grind then to fine powder and add nutmeg)

* 2 tsp paprika.

* 8 small tomatoes or canned diced tomatoes.

* 1 1/2 tsp salt.

* 1-2 cups water.

* 1/2 cup heavy cream.

* minced fresh cilantro for garnish.

* cooked rice or naan bread for serving.

* making sauce and cooking:

* heat oil and butter then add ginger garlic paste and stir,then add hot peppers.

* add tomato paste and cook till brownish then add masala,paprika and saute for 3 minutes.

* add tomatoes,saltand water and simmer till sauce is thickened,you may need more water if it dries.

* meanwhile grill the chicken in some hot oil,try to shake excess marinate .

* cook till golden  on all sides.

* now blend the sauce with hand mixer or blender.

* add chicken pieces to sauce and leave to simmer for 10 minutes.

* add cream and stir then at the end add chopped coriander.

* serve with rice or bread.

Very tasty savory dish,not a piece left ,thank you dear Hanin,now it’s officially Hanin’s Chicken in my cook book 🙂