Murgh a la Mama Gaggan

Ingredients

2 tablespoons oil

2 1/2 tablespoons ginger, finely minced
3-4 green cardamom pods, crushed

2 brown cardamom pods

2-3 bay leaves

4 cloves

1 inch of a cinnamon stick

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 1/2 cup onion-garlic paste

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon salt

1/2-1 teaspoon red chili

2 1/2-3 cups tomato sauce, preferably with fresh tomatoes

1 pound chicken, diced into 1-inch cubes

3 potatoes, diced into 1-inch cubes

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1. Fry ginger in 2 tablespoons oil on high heat, until golden.
2. Turn the heat off and add green cardamom, brown cardamom, bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon stick, and cumin seeds. Stir well.

3. Turn heat on and add the onion-garlic paste, as detailed in a previous post. (This recipe requires roughly 1 onion and half of a head of garlic.)
3. Cook for 10 minutes, and add the ground coriander, salt, red chili, and 2-3 tablespoons of water to thin out the paste, as needed.
4. Add tomatoes and cook until the sauce reaches a thicker consistency and oil separates from tomato mixture, about 30 minutes.
5. Add chicken and cook for 5-8 minutes.

6. Add potatoes and cook over low-medium heat for 5 minutes. Cover when potatoes are 'sealed' / partly cooked. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

7. Add 1 1/2-2 cups of hot water to chicken and bring to a boil.

8. Add brown sugar and 1 teaspoon salt.

9. Keep stirring, until the oil comes out, about 20 minutes.

Done! Enjoy!

Bengan Bharta

Ingredients

3 T oil

2 tablespoons ginger, finely minced
1 1/2 cup onion-garlic paste
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric

2 teaspoons coriander
2 cups tomato sauce, preferably using fresh tomatoes
4 cups eggplant, steamed, peeled, and diced into 1 1/2-inch cubes

1. Fry ginger in 3 tablespoons oil on high heat, until golden.
2. Use the onions, garlic, and spices to make the onion-garlic paste, as detailed in a previous post.
3. Once the paste is ready, add the tomato sauce. Simmer for 25-30 minutes.
4. Add eggplant and cover. Reduce and stir to prevent burning, until eggplant is soft and pulpy. This may take 15-25 minutes.
5. Immersion blend the bharta (eggplant) until desired consistency.

Note: You may pressure cook the bharta for several minutes to make removal of skins easy. Also, the tops of the bharta may be added to the dish, as well - cooking them renders them like artichoke hearts at the end. Very nice to suck the 'marrow' out of them when the dish is finished.