Chicken Curry with Bell Peppers.

That was my fourth time watching the movie 'Julie & Julia'.  I was particularly fascinated by one detail in the movie.. !!!You should pat dry the beef pieces to get a browning effect while frying !!!.. 

Oh is that so..then I should also try it...

Since I don't eat red meat, I decided to try with chicken...


I stumbled upon this 'recipe' posted by Sig at Live to Eat.   I only saw the following words 'drain well' , 'paper towel', 'fry', 'browning'....... thats it !!..   I was determined to make the dish with chicken.

I took the liberty of changing some of the ingredients. (For the original recipe click the word 'recipe' above)

Recipe

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1. Chicken Breasts             -  3 pcs
2. Oil                               -  2 tbsp oil
3. Bay Leaf                       - 1
4. Cinnamon stick              - 1"
5. All spice powder            - 1 pinch
6. Onions, thinly sliced       - 1 cup
7. Red chili powder            - 1/2 Tbsp
8. Tandoori Masala            - 1/2 Tbsp
9. Black pepper powder     - 1/2 Tbsp
10. Turmeric powder           -1/2 Tsp
11. Fat free/Low fat yogurt  -1/4 cup
12. Bell pepper, sliced         - 1 no (any color)
13. Salt                            - as required
14. Cilantro leaves              - 1 hand full. (Only the leaves not the stem)

1.  Wash the chicken pieces and drain well.

2.  Using a paper towel pat dry each pieces to remove the excess moisture.

3.  Coat the chicken pieces with some salt and pinch of turmeric powder

4.  In a large pan, heat the oil and add the spice 3,4,5. A really nice aroma will come from the spices...

5.  The add the chicken  pieces, and sauté till the pieces turn light brown. This can be done in batches. It is important not to crowd the pan, as the chicken pieces will release the moisture and the won’t brown.

6.  Transfer the browned  chicken pieces to a pressure cooker. Remove the Bay leaf and cinnamon stick from the oil.

7. Add 1/2 of the sliced onions to the same pan . Pan will contain leftover oil which has the flavor of chicken. Add some more if not enough oil is left.

8.  Saute the onions till soft and transparent. 

9. Add 10, 7, 8, 9 and continue to saute on medium heat till the masalas are cooked through and the raw small is gone.

10.  Remove the pan from the heat  and add yogurt to the pan, mix well with a spoon and pour onion- masala mixture into the pressure cooker. 

11. Combine the ingredients. Make sure the chicken pieces are well coated with the masala. 

12. Close the pressure cooker and cook for 10 minutes after the first whistle on med-high heat.

13. Meanwhile pour little water into the same pan. (Don't add to much water)Add the remaining onions. Saute the onions till soft. 

14. Add the sliced bell peppers. Season with salt and pepper. 

15. Remove from heat once the bell peppers are cooked enough.

16. Once the pressure cooker is cooled, open it. If lot of liquid is left in the cooker, continue to cook with the lid open till the gravy is of the required consistency. 

17. Add onion-bell pepper from the pan to the chicken pieces and mix well along with cilantro.

Transfer it to a serving dish and enjoy.