As some of you know from my facebook page, I’m currently in India visiting my family. It’s been a busy time as my brother had a big engagement party with my family and friends flying in from everywhere and soon after we traveled to Goa. So, I haven’t been cooking very much but rather eating a lot (which I promise to share pictures later). Things have finally quietened down a little this week to where I could do a recipe with my mom, who’s a terrific cook. We picked an Indian dish from the Northern region which is sometimes referred to as Kashmiri Chicken. It’s essentially, saffron infused chunks of chicken in a rich, smoky & nutty sauce. It’s mouth wateringly delicious and is definitely a restaurant quality dish.
This dish may seem a little complicated with a lot of steps and I’m not going to lie saying it’s super easy. For a beginner cook, it’sprobably not a recipe you want to start with. But for anyone who’s even slightly proficient in kitchen, you’ll see that it’s not as complex as it looks. There’s more prep work to this recipe than the actual cooking. The thing you have to remember is that Indian cuisine builds on a lot of flavors and a combination of spices for a single seemingly simple dish. Secondly, we cook almost everything from scratch. The resuts are amazingly flavorful dishes, that anyone who’s had real Indian food will agree. Another thing to remember is that Indian food isn’t the most photogenic cusine especially it’s curries, so even if you’re doubtful about how it looks, I can assure you, you won’t be dissapointed by the taste.
**NOTE: As I was cooking with local ingredients, my measurements in my ingredient list may not look like what you see in the pictures. But, I wrote out the recipe keeping in mind the ingrdients as you would buy them in the U.S. For example: I said 5-6 cloves of garlic, but I used 12-15 cloves here because the cloves are a LOT smaller and less potent than what you get in the U.S. So use your discreation for the measurements. **
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Love this recipe
Your saffron chicken looks fabulous. You’re making me hungry!
Thank you! *blushes*
Just made this! I had to tweak it a bit. I didn’t have white poppy seeds, so I used sesame seeds (white). I didn’t have any smoke flavoring, although I wish I would have!
It is a very tasty dish, however a little bland compared to all the other Indian dishes I have had in the past. Very mellow flavors to me. Also, I used “Spanish” Saffron from Trader Joe’s. Mine didn’t end up as yellow as yours, so I added a pinch of turmeric. Thanks for the recipe!
Hello! I’ve already cooked some of your dishes and Im very glad I’d foinf your site. Thank you so much for it and especially for pictures! I’m a beginner in cooking, so pictures are essential for me.
And I have aquestion about this recipe: I don’t have white poppy seeds. Can I use black ones instead?
Thank you! yes you can use black poppy seeds instead…it may alter the color of the dish…but it should taste good nonetheless. 🙂
Thanks for your reply! I’m looking forward to your new recepies. And sorry for mistakes (I’m russian 🙂 )
Such a comprehensive recipe, the steps and pics really make it impossible to screw up! Well, I’m going to give it a try along with some saffron rice I think. Thanks!
How many servings does this make?
This makes about 4 generous servings.
Okay, I have a few questions:
1) Do you know if this dish freezes well?
2) I know whole spices are better (especially in Indian cuisine), but I have so many blends of ground spices that my spice drawer is overflowing and I’m not allowing myself to buy whole spices until I use up some of my current ones. I know it won’t taste quite the same, but if I used ground cardamom (and cloves) in place of the pods, how much should I use?
3) Did you remove the pods/cinnamon stick from the pan or leave them in?
Hi Slicey, To answer your questions…
1) I have never frozen this dish, I’m not sure. If you do want to try I would suggest leaving out the yogurt in the end.
2) You can definitely use ground spices. I would suggest 1/4 tsp cardamon & cloves.
3) I don’t usually remove the pods/cinnamon stick….as I know not to eat them if it happens be in my serving. My husband on the other hand hates when I leave whole spices in the pan as he isn’t the most careful eater and tends to get a mouthful sometimes, which isn’t pleasant. So I really think its a matter of preference to remove it or not before serving.