Chicken Pathia

Method

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1. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat and cook the onions 10 minutes until golden. Add the garlic and ginger for 2 minutes.

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2. Stir in the cumin, coriander, turmeric and chilli powder and cook 1 minute.

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3. Add the tomato purée and cook 3 minutes, stirring, until it darkens and smells sweet.

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4. Add the tomatoes, water, tamarind, sugar and salt and simmer 10 minutes.

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5. Add the chicken and simmer, partly covered, 20 minutes, until tender and 74°C / 165°F, and the sauce is thick.

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6. Stir in the lemon juice and taste: it should be hot, sweet and sour in balance. Adjust with sugar, lemon or salt.

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7. Scatter with the coriander and serve.

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Chef’s Tips

• Cook the purée until it darkens. Raw purée is sharp and metallic.
• Adjust sugar and lemon at the end. The balance is the point.
• Add water gradually. Pathia should be thick.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• A quarter-teaspoon of ground ginger per tablespoon of fresh is the standard ratio if you are working from the spice rack rather than a fresh root.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the usual stand-in when you are out of fresh garlic — it will not caramelise the same way, but it carries the flavour.

Pairing Suggestions

• Basmati rice
• Plain naan
• Poppadoms

Storage & Reheating

Refrigerate up to 4 days and freeze for 3 months.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.