Hello! Back with a recipe that has a special place in my heart because IT REQUIRES ZERO CHOPPING*, the bane of my existence!!! This recipe comes from my cousin Shabnam, and my sister Mubeena would make it all the time in NYC when I’d come over for the weekend. She’d serve it with batura, but it’s great with pathiri, parotta and extra delicious with idlis. YUM.

The original recipe uses chilli paste (make this by blending dried Kashmiri chillies, that have been soaked in warm water, to a fine paste with as little water as your blender will allow, a little salt and turmeric), but I make it with chilli powder because I don’t keep chilli paste on hand. And because I’m using powder, I add a cornflour slurry at the end, something you don’t require if you’re using the paste, because that provides enough body for the curry.

*(Unless, you’re butchering the chicken yourself, in which case, yes, a little chopping)

Recipe: Soy Sauce Chicken

Ingredients
250 g chicken, curry-cut
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp cornflour mixed in 1/4 cup water
2 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder, mixed in a little water to form a paste
A big pinch asafoetida powder
1 sprig curry leaves
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
Vegetable oil

Method
Heat 2 tbsp oil. Add the mustard seeds, and allow to splutter.
To this, add the asafoetida, followed by the curry leaves.
Add the chicken to this and let it brown on all sides.
Now pour in the chilli paste, and on low heat, cook the chilli powder until it loses its raw smell.
Next, add in the soy sauce.
Add 1/2 cup water (or more, depending on how thin you like the gravy), and allow to cook for 8-10 minutes on low.
Finally, mix in the cornflour slurry, allow to thicken, check seasoning, and turn off the heat.