Chicken in a Curried Tomato Sauce

My understanding is that curried simply means sauce. It's not the one and done spice mixture most American's know. But the flavors of the WIDE variety of Indian cooking draw me. I love their flavor profiles. Most Indian dishes have a rice base but just substitute cauliflower and you still have something to sop up the yummy flavorful sauces.

Now, full discloser, I have never been to India. I am not an expert Indian cook. But I made this dish inspired by the flavors I have enjoyed in Indian cooking over the years. My family loved the dish and I hope you do too.

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Chicken in a Curried Tomato Sauce

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1 family fryer pack of chicken including breasts, thighs and legs. Bone in with skin on

1 Large yellow or white onion chopped into large 1 inch chunks

2 tablespoons of ghee*

1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon of other pepper of your choice (red pepper flakes etc.)

1 teaspoon of curry powder

1 teaspoon of turmeric (cause it's good for you, I know it's already in the curry powder but put some more in)

1 tablespoon of fresh crushed ginger (2 teaspoons if using dried ginger)

1 cinnamon stick

4 green cardamom pods**

1 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes

1 6 oz. can of tomato paste

1 Tablespoon Garam Masala - you can find this in the spice section or you can make your own.

Salt and Pepper to taste

*If you're not familiar with it ghee is clarified butter. It's lovely to cook with (smokes and burns less than regular butter). If you don't have ghee, or can't find it, you can use oil but trust me. If you can get ghee it is so much better.

**I know this is a specialty item but you can get these easily enough on Amazon etc. and they do add a ton of flavor. But try to scoop them out in the end or as you serve as they aren't yummy to crunch down on.

Heat the ghee in a large skillet, preferably one with taller sides and a lid. When the ghee is all melted and hot put your chicken pieces in the skin side down. DO NOT CROWD THE CHICKEN. Work in batches if you have to. Let the chicken sear in the ghee for about 5 minutes per side. Just until the chicken has some nice browning to it.

[Hint: don't try to move the chicken too quickly or the skin will stick. You need to wait until the chicken skin has "formed a slight brown skin" so it will flip over without tearing or sticking.]

Once all the chicken has been browned on all sides, remove it from the pan and set it aside. Sauté the onion chunks in the same pan in which you sautéed the chicken.

As the onion starts to wilt add in all the spices through cardamom pods. Scrape the pan periodically to get all the good brown bits up. When the spices are fragrant and the onion is translucent, add in the tomato and tomato paste. Stir well to incorporate.

Then add the browned chicken pieces back into the pan, skin side down first. Turn the pieces to coat in the sauce, cover with the lid, and put into a 425° oven for 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes remove the lid and cook for another 10 minutes until the sauce reduces a bit.

Pour the whole dish onto a serving tray and sprinkle the garam masala over top and serve!

I served this with steamed cauliflower and sautéed asparagus.