Spiced Cream Chicken

07. November 2007 Chicken 0

I really think I must have been either an Indian or a Middle Eastern girl in one of my past lives because it’s quite insane how I crave curry several times a month. I just made a wonderful tagine last week, so I wasn’t really in the mood to be in the kitchen for too long. I wanted to make a small and easy dish that didn’t take too much time but still involved my favorite spices. Nigel Slater sautéed some chicken thighs with some fennel. I copied his recipe, but I made use of the baby bok choy in the fridge.

Ingredients:
6 chicken thighs
1 pound baby bok choy, thoroughly washed
1 cup heavy cream
a handful of cilantro, roughly chopped
4 green cardamom pods, minus the husks
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp whole-grain mustard
3 cloves of garlic, minced
peanut oil
salt, pepper

1. Rub the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and brown them in some hot peanut oil using a large skillet. They should take at least 25 minutes over medium heat.
2. While chicken is cooking, make the spiced paste. Using a mortar and pestle, crush the cardamom seeds and the cumin. Add the turmeric, the chili and the garlic, and continue crushing, mixing in the mustard and some peanut oil as you go.
3. Remove the chicken thighs from the skillet when golden brown. Reduce heat to low and spoon out the oil and add the spiced paste to the skillet. Using a heat-resistant spatula, scrape off the chicken bits from the bottom of the skillet and mix them in with the paste. After a minute, remove the skillet from the heat to keep the paste from burning and add the heavy cream. Return the chicken and add the baby bok choy, plus the cilantro. Cover and let the steam cook the greens for about 5 minutes.