Chicken curry with a hint of coriander

It is only recently that I found that where the traditional Punjabi/ North Indian gravy uses ginger-garlic paste, the Maharastrian version uses ginger-garlic-green chilli- coriander paste. Almost everything else is the same, but this takes the flavour to a different dimension. With the hubby home for the weekend, I had to make chicken curry rice at least once, but this time I made it the Maharashtrian way, and it was a huge hit. Most of it got consumed before I could click a picture, so the picture will have to wait for another day.

1 kg curry cut chicken

For marinade:

3 tbsp curds

1 tbsp ginger-garlic-green chilli- coriander paste*

1 tsp haldi powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

Salt to taste

For gravy:

3 small onions, chopped

1 tbsp ginger-garlic-green chilli- coriander paste

2 tomatoes, chopped fine
4 tsp dhania powder
2 tsp jeera powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
salt to taste
2-3 tbsp cooking oil

Method:
Wash and clean the chicken. Marinate for at least 1 hour.

Take onion and tomatoes in a blender and grind to a fine paste
Heat the oil, lower the flame, add the onion-tomato paste and the g-g-gc-c paste, and cook on a low flame till the raw smell goes, and the masala starts leaving the sides of the kadhai.
Add the marinated chicken, mix well, cover and cook. The chicken will release water, so keep stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick to the vessels- add water, if required. The chicken will be nice and tender in about 20 minutes.
Serve hot with rice or rotis.

* Grind equal quantities of ginger and garlic, with green chillis to taste and double the quantity of coriander leaves and stalks. It can be stored for 2 weeks, and makes a great addition to any gravy.