This dish has a highly aromatic sauce flavoured with cardamom. The yoghurt makes the sauce deliciously creamy. If you drain youghurt overnight, this makes the sauce richer by getting rid of any excess liquid.
1.5kg chicken or chicken pieces
25 cardamom pods
4 crushed garlic cloves
3cm grated piece of ginger
300ml natural yoghurt
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
grated rind of 1 lemon
2 tbsp oil
400ml coconut milk
6 chillies, pricked all over
2 tbsp chopped coriander
3 tbsp lemon juice
Remove seeds from the cardamom pods and crush them in a pestle and mortar. Ina blender mix the garlic and ginger with 50ml yoghurt to make a paste. Add the cardamom, pepper and grated lemon rind. Spread this over over the chicken pieces, cover and leave in the fridge overnight.
Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan and brown the chicken pieces. Add the remaining yoghurt and coconut milk, bring to the boil, then add whole chillies and coriander leaves. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Season with salt and stir in the lemon juice.
