Chicken with onions from Bengal

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 chicken (approx. 1.25 kg) or the same amount of thighs
• 9 medium onions
• 8 small potatoes
• 3 tsp red chili powder
• 150 ml yogurt (cream yogurt)
• 125 ml oil
• 6 cloves garlic, large, finely chopped
• 2 cinnamon leaves or bay leaves
• 5 cm cinnamon stick
• 6 cardamom pods, green
• ½ tsp peppercorns
• 12 carnations
• 3 red chili peppers
• 2 tbsp ginger, grated
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tbsp butter
• ¾ tsp sugar
• ½ tsp spice mix (garam masala)
• Salt

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 45 minutes

Chicken Dopiaza

Cut the chicken, bone in, into 8 pieces. Halve 3 onions, roughly chop 2 onions. Grate the remaining 4 onions and squeeze them vigorously into a cheesecloth, reserving the juice and discarding the squeezed flesh. Peel the potatoes. Mix the chili powder with a little water to form a paste. Beat the yogurt with a fork. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan and sauté the chopped onions over medium heat until golden brown. Remove the onions with a slotted spoon, drain on kitchen paper, and set aside. In the remaining oil, fry the garlic, cinnamon or bay leaves, and after a few minutes, the cinnamon stick and cardamom. Two minutes later, add the peppercorns, cloves, and red chilies. After 30 seconds, stir in the grated ginger, chili paste, and turmeric. Add the chicken pieces, potatoes, and tomatoes to the pan, then stir in the butter, yogurt, and sugar. Sauté everything together for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly, making sure the spices don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Add a little water if needed. First add the onion halves, then the onion juice and salt. Transfer the curry to an ovenproof dish and cook in a preheated oven at 150°C (convection oven) for about 20-25 minutes. When the chicken and potatoes are tender, stir in half of the fried onions and sprinkle with garam masala. Sprinkle the remaining onions on top just before serving.