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Garlic Chilli Chicken

Garlic Chilli Chicken is a modern British Indian Restaurant (BIR) recipe for a classic medium to hot curry of chicken in a coconut, chilli and garlic base sweetened with mango pickle. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Portuguese version of: Garlic Chilli Chicken.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

25 minutes

Total Time:

45 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : CurryBIR CurriesChilli RecipesChicken RecipesBritish Recipes


This is another staple of the British Indian Restaurant (BIR) made with plenty of chillies and sliced garlic. This is prepared BIR style, with pre-prepared base sauce, pre-mixed mixed powder and pre-cooked children. In the BIR style, in terms of heat, this dish typically falls between a jalfrezi and a madras.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp ghee
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 star anise
200g (7 oz) onion, finely chopped
12 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
2 tsp sun-dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
2 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp mixed powder
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp sea salt
8 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp finely-chopped coriander stalks
2 tbsp finely-chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
600ml (1 2/3 cups) base sauce (either base curry sauce or Indian restaurant curry base), warmed (plus extra for thinning the dish near the end of cooking)
500g (1 lb) pre-cooked chicken
2 tsp tamarind paste (or lemon juice)
3 tbsp coconut powder (or coconut flour)
150ml (3/5 cup) coconut milk
12 fresh finger chillies, chopped
4 tsp mango chutney optional (or use a commercial brand)
Extra coriander (cilantro) leaves, to garnish
Extra green finger chillies, to garnish
Lightly-fried slices of garlic, to garnish

Method:

Heat the oils together in a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the star anise and stir-fry for about 45 seconds, to infuse the flavour into the oil. Add the finely-chopped onion along with the thinly-sliced garlic. Stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, until the garlic is nicely browned (but make sure it does not burn as this will induce bitterness).

Now stir in the ginger-garlic paste and stir-fry the mixture for 30 seconds. Add the dried fenugreek leaves, chilli powder, mixed powder, garam masala and salt. Stir-fry the ingredients for about 40 seconds then add 4 tbsp of the warmed base sauce (this helps the spices from burning).

At this point stir in the tomato puree and increase the heat to high. Cook for a few minutes then add the pre-cooked chicken, coriander stalks, tamarind paste (or lemon juice) then stir well to coat the chicken in the gravy.

Now stir in 1/3 the remaining base sauce along with the coconut powder. Mix everything together and cook for 30 seconds (do not stir at this point). The sauce will have thickened due to the addition of the coconut powder. Add a further 1/3 of the remaining base sauce to thin it down.

Continue cooking without stirring for a further 10 minutes, until the sauce has reduced and thickened and has begun to dry around the edges. Stir in all the remaining base sauce along with the coconut milk and the green chillies. Mix everything well together when first added.

Cook on high for 4-5 minutes stirring and scraping down the sides of the pan 2-3 times during this period. It’s important for the sauce to occasionally stick to the base and sides of the pan during this cooking time as it’s this that lends the dish its distinctive flavour.

Add some more base sauce near the end of cooking if the dish looks like its thickening too much. Thirty seconds before the end of cooking stir in the coriander leaves.

Now taste the sauce and if you prefer some sweetness stir in some of the mango chutney. The oil may have split out of the curry gravy by this time. You can spoon it off the surface and discard it, if you wish. Fish out and discard the star anise at this point.

Sprinkle over some extra coriander leaves, and serve. You can also add a few whole green finger chillies and fried slices of garlic to the top of the dish.

Find more BIR recipes on the FabulousFusionFood British Indian Restaurant (BIR) recipes page.