Iraqi Curried Chicken Recipes

Steps:

• Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat and add the oil.
• Add the chicken pieces and cook gently until browned on all sides.
• Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Yes, this is a long simmer for a chicken, but these are the instructions I was given, and when I tried it at home it tasted just like our meal at the camp. The potatoes should just about disintegrate, which thickens the stock, now turned sauce.
• Note that the fat and bones from the chicken will disengage from the meat - not very palatable for our tastes, but the Iraqi family seemed to have just ate around them. (I remove them and the cinnamon sticks before serving.).
• Serve over rice. We like to add cooked or steamed vegetables over the rice before drowning it with the curry. Box of frozen broccoli works for us. Oh - they also served whole pita breads with this, which they tore and passed on to one another to tear and pass and use as scoops. Neat!

Steps:

• Whisk together the yogurt, 3 tablespoons salt, chili powder and turmeric in a large bowl. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Let sit at room temperature until ready to use, up to 1 hour. (Alternatively, the chicken can be marinated for up to 2 days covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator.)
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat until a deep-fry thermometer reaches 350 degrees F. Fry half of the onions, stirring frequently for even cooking, until deep golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer them to a paper-towel lined baking sheet to drain. Season with salt and let cool. Let the oil come back up to temperature and repeat with the remaining onions. Reserve the oil.
• Wash, rinse and drain the rice in a bowl full of cold water until the water is almost clear, about 5 times. Bring the rice, 1/4 cup salt, 4 of the cloves, 3 of the cardamom pods, 1 of the bay leaves, the peppercorns and 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Cook for exactly 5 minutes. (The rice will not be completely cooked; it will continue to cook in the oven. Do not cook longer or the rice will get mushy.) Drain and transfer the rice and spices to a medium bowl.
• Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 300 degrees F.
• Stir together the saffron and milk in a small bowl until combined.
• Heat 3 tablespoons of the reserved onion oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the cinnamon stick, cumin seeds and the remaining 4 cloves, 4 cardamom pods and 2 bay leaves. Cook, stirring frequently, until the spices are very fragrant and beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until very fragrant and beginning to stick to the bottom of the pan, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally and scraping the garlic and ginger from the bottom of the pan, until the tomatoes start to break down and most of the liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup water, bring to a boil and scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pan.
• Remove the chicken from the marinade and layer on top of the tomatoes. Then sprinkle half the fried onions on top of the chicken. Top with the rice and spices and then drizzle the saffron milk over the rice. Cover the pan and bake until the liquid evaporates, the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Let sit covered for 10 minutes, then transfer the biryani to a large serving platter. Top with the remaining fried onions, cilantro and mint leaves.

Steps:

• For the marinade: In a resealable plastic bag, mix together the cream, lime juice, cardamom, cumin, turmeric, black pepper and salt. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours and up to 4 hours.
• For the curry: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, jalapenos and garlic and cook until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the cumin, ginger and salt and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the potatoes, tomatoes, cinnamon, tomato paste and chicken stock; stir to combine. Raise the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the chicken and all of the marinade. Cook, covered, until the potatoes are easily pierced, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Stir in the coconut milk and cook until the sauce has thickened slightly, another 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro. Taste for salt and pepper and add more as needed.

Steps:

• Rinse and wipe chicken pieces dry and sprinkle with salt.
• Combine baharat and turmeric and rub half onto chicken pieces. Leave for 15 minutes.
• Heat olive oil and brown chicken pieces on each side. Remove to plate.
• Add onion and fry gently until transparent.
• Add garlic, ginger, remaining spice mixture, and cinnamon bark to the onion and fry for 5 minutes stirring often.
• Add tomato sauce, water, salt to taste, and loomi pierced twice with a skewer or loomi powder. Bring to a high simmer.
• Add chicken pieces and okra if using, reduce heat to low and simmer very gently for 1 1/2 hours until chicken is tender and sauce is thick.
• Serve hot with Recipe #79179 or other basmati rice dish and salad.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken, onions, and garlic until the chicken has browned; about 5 minutes. Stir in potatoes, salt, and curry powder; add enough water to cover the chicken halfway. Cover, and simmer until tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Season to taste with hot pepper sauce.

Steps:

• In a large skillet, in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or ghee) fry potatoes until brown, drain and reserve the potatoes. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet and fry onion, garlic and ginger until onion is soft and golden. Add chili, pepper, turmeric, cumin, salt and the tomatoes. Fry, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Add yogurt, mint, cardamom and cinnamon stick. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes are cooked to a pulp. It may be necessary to add a little hot water if the mixture becomes too dry and starts to stick to the pan.
• When the mixture is thick and smooth, add the chicken pieces and stir well to coat them with the spice mixture. Cover and cook over very low heat until the chicken is tender, approximately 35 to 45 minutes. There should only be a little very thick gravy left when chicken is finished cooking. If necessary cook uncovered for a few minutes to reduce the gravy.
• Wash rice well and drain in colander for at least 30 minutes.
• In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil (or ghee) and fry the onions until they are golden. Add saffron, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick, ginger and rice. Stir continuously until the rice is coated with the spices.
• In a medium-size pot, heat the chicken stock and salt. When the mixture is hot pour it over the rice and stir well. Add the chicken mixture and the potatoes; gently mix them into the rice. Bring to boil. Cover the saucepan tightly, turn heat to very low and steam for 20 minutes. Do not lift lid or stir while cooking. Spoon biryani onto a warm serving dish.