Description
Rich Jamie Oliver chicken pathia delivers a spicy-sweet Indian curry that balances complex flavors with tender meat. Passionate home cooks can master this restaurant-style dish with simple ingredients and straightforward techniques.
Ingredients
Scale
- 525 g (18.5 oz) chicken breasts, chopped into bite-size chunks
- 3 tbsps ghee or vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 tsps minced ginger
- 2 red chilies, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsps medium curry powder (use hot for more heat)
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp hot chili powder
- ¼ tsp ground fenugreek
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp tamarind paste
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsps sugar
- 400 ml passata
- 2 tbsps tomato puree
- 60 ml chicken stock
Instructions
- Preparation: Pulverize onion, garlic, and ginger into a fine paste using a food processor, creating an aromatic foundation for the dish.
- Sautéing Base: Heat ghee in a large pan, introduce the onion paste, and caramelize until edges turn golden-brown, releasing deep, rich flavors.
- Chicken Sealing: Add chicken pieces, quickly searing to lock in moisture and develop a robust exterior, ensuring each morsel is perfectly coated.
- Spice Infusion: Incorporate cinnamon, curry powder, chili powder, paprika, fenugreek, and tamarind paste, allowing the spices to bloom and intermingle, creating a complex flavor profile.
- Liquid Harmony: Combine lemon juice, sugar, sea salt, passata, tomato puree, chopped chilies, and chicken stock, bringing the mixture to a rapid boil before reducing to a gentle simmer for 10 minutes, allowing flavors to meld and intensify.
- Serving: Plate the chicken pathia, adorning with fresh coriander leaves and a lemon wedge, accompanied by steamed rice to complete this vibrant, flavor-packed culinary creation.
Notes
- Prep Paste Perfectly: Ensure onion, garlic, and ginger are ground into an ultra-smooth consistency without any lumps for a silky, uniform base that guarantees rich flavor absorption.
- Caramelize with Care: Watch the onion paste closely during sautéing, allowing golden-brown edges to develop without burning, which creates depth and sweetness in the sauce.
- Spice Blooming Technique: Keep the heat low when adding spices, allowing them to release their essential oils and aromatics for maximum flavor intensity without scorching.
- Simmer Strategically: Maintain a gentle, controlled simmer during the final cooking stage to help chicken absorb flavors and become tender while preventing sauce from reducing too quickly.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: British
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
- Calories: 400
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 800 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 30 g
- Cholesterol: 90 mg