Murgh Methi

This is a bright curry dish, a chicken curry swimming with fenugreek and other warm aromatics, a hearty meal served with plenty of basmati, maybe even add some madras lentil curry on the side and you've got a great meal!

i served this bowl of curry at my children's school for Martin Luther King Day, there is a huge feast at lunch where dishes from all the families get sent in with their kids, from all different cultures and back grounds, it is a wonderful picture to see all the kids sitting down together sharing a meal and celebrating their differences and how everyone is treated equally at the table.

i cling to the lens of gratefulness in which i view the world, being a brown Bengali American girl, being married to an American man, having mixed children, getting to coexist like anybody else, not treated by my skin color, but by the kindness of my character, i know there is so much work to be done, progress to be made, but i am encouraged and hopeful at how far we have come. It has not been that long when there was a time that i would not have been able to have or be any of those things.

Back to this rustic joyful dish, i served it at lunch and i was so blessed and surprised and how many of the kids were willing to try it! The staff and teachers were equally encouraging with their kind words and eagerness for a scoop on their plate. A few came back to tell me how much they loved it and that truly made my heart soar with gladness. what a gift for your food to be received well.

Let us get on with the recipe at hand!

I'm sure there are so many different variations of a good curry, i mean, you've seen them all over my blog, so this is just another cozy curry that you can tuck into any time!

you'll need:
2-3 large boneless chicken breast
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped 
2 tbs garlic ginger paste
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped 
1 large jalapeno, finely chopped 
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons kashmiri red chili powder 
2 teaspoons tomato paste 
2 teaspoons coriander powder
1 teaspoon turmeric 
2 teaspoons garam masala 
3-4 whole cloves 
4 green cardamom pods 
2 tablespoons  fenugreek leaves, or kasuri methi 
1-2 cups of chicken stock
1/2 cup half n half 

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pot. we're going to try and do this all in one pot.
drop on cumin seeds and give them room to sputter and release their aromas. 
add in ginger garlic paste, and chopped onion. saute and stir. 
add in green jalapeño. continue to stir spices and bits up. 
add in red chili powder, cardamom pods, whole cloves, and fenugreek leaves. [i buy these in small frozen cubed blocks from the Indian market. i can't ever seem to find fresh ones. these work great! one cube will do ya]

as spices and pastes and bits are all cooking away and getting nice and aromatic, add chicken and sauté really well, coating everything. 

add sweet potatoes. 

cover it shallowly with a bit of chicken stock to merry all the juices of everything together and to mix everything well. 

season. add salt, cracked pepper, maybe even a bit of sugar for balance. 

turn heat down and slowly stir in half n half as liquid has reduced over 15-2o min. 

add in a bunch of chopped cilantro and more methi if need be. 

serve with rice.