This delicious dish comes from Kohlapur in southern India. The original recipe has a large amount of chillies as people in this part of India prefer a very hot flavour: For this recipe however, the quantity of chillies has been reduced.

Ingredients - serves 6

4 chichen legs
1 large onion chopped into large dice
1 inch cube of peeled root ginger coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic coarsely chopped
6 tbsps cooking oil
1 tsp ground coriander
1.5 tsps ground cumin
1 tsp chilli powder
1 small tin of tomatoes
salt to taste
180ml water
4 whole green chillies
1 tsp garam masala
2 tbsps chopped coriander leaves

Method

1. Cut each leg into two. Wash and dry on kitchen roll.

2. Place the onion, garlic and ginger in an electric food processor and blend to a smooth paste. Add a little water if using a liquidiser.

3. Heat the oil over medium heat and add the liquidised ingredients. Stir and fry for 5-6 minutes.

4. Add turmeric, ground coriander, cumin and chilli powder; adjust heat to low and fry for 4 - 5 minutes stirring frequently.

5. Add half the tomatoes, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.

6. Now add the chicken, stir and cook until the chicken changes colour (4 - 5 minutes) and add the rest of the tomatoes, along with all the juice.

7. Add salt and water, bring to the boil, cover and simmer until the chicken is tender. Stir occasionally to ensure that the thickened gravy does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

8. Add the whole green chillies and garam masala, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

9. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the coriander leaves.

WATCHPOINT: In stage 3 it is very important to fry the ingredients for the specified time so that the raw smell of the onions, ginger and garlic can be eliminated before adding the rest of the ingredients.