Sali Murgh - Chicken and Apricot Curry With Potato Straws

 

I love watching cooking show, especially from the chefs I like.
And one of the TV chefs I like is Rick Stein and I do watch all his shows from BBC.
I think he such a passionate cook and I love that he gets so excited about a product or a particular dish, food etc...

So when I heard that his new TV Show Ricy Steins Curry is going to be shown in BBC, I was so excited and as it was in the summer holidays they were showing I even wrote in my calander the date when they programme is going to be show so that I won't miss it.
Ofcourse as you can guess I bought his book and I must say I love the book though I don't totally agree to amm the recipe from the book as some of them are not really authentic like the way I make them.

But then I say that because I know the dishes so I am like oh you don't do that but then I think someone who reammy knows about parsee cooking might say the same , they might read this recipe and say no no this is not the way we make.
So whater ever it is if it is authentic of not, we loved the dish. We loved the sweet and sour flavour of the dish and the crunch we get from the potato straws DELISH that is what Rick Stein would say :-)

I had put on my fb status i was going to make this dish and one of my parsee friends gave a tip, they said I should cook in a small pan, 6 extra apricots with 2 tbsp vinigar (they used palm but i don't have so used red wine vinegar) with 1 tbsp sugar boil for 5 minutes and then add to the dish in the end.

Which I ofcourse did, so it is up to you if you want to do this as below I am giving the exact recipe from the book.

As it is a BBC show they do have the recipe in their site

 

 

Ingredients

For the sali (matchstick potatoes)

• 250g/9oz chip potatoes such as Maris Piper or Sebago, peeled, cut into matchsticks or coarsely grated, soaked in cold water for 15 minutes
• vegetable oil, for deep frying
• 1–2 tsp salt

For the curry

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 6 black peppercorns
• 5 cloves
• 2 green cardamom pods, lightly bruised with a rolling pin
• 2 dried Kashmiri chillies
• 4cm/1½in piece cinnamon stick
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 100g/3½z tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 4cm/1½in fresh root ginger, finely grated
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp garam masala ( I added 2 tsp)
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 1kg/2lb 4oz chicken, jointed into 8 pieces, or 1kg/2lb 4oz chicken pieces, skinned
• 2 tsp jaggery or soft brown sugar
• 150g/5½oz ‘ready-to-eat’ soft dried apricots
• 3 tbsp white wine vinegar (used red wine vinegar)
• handful coriander, chopped

Preparation method

1. Drain the potatoes and dry on kitchen paper. Heat the vegetable oil in a deep pan over a medium heat until hot (or heat a deep-fat fryer to 180C/350F). CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended. Deep-fry the potatoes in batches until crisp and golden-brown. Remove from the oil using a slotted spoon and drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper. Season with salt.
2. For the curry, heat the oil in a heavy-based pan or karahi over a medium heat. Add the whole spices and fry for a minute until fragrant, then add the onion and fry for 10 minutes, or until softened and golden-brown.
3. Stir in the tomatoes and salt and simmer for 2–3 minutes, then add the ginger, garlic, chilli powder, cumin, coriander, garam masala and turmeric and cook for a minute.
4. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes, or until well coated with the spice mixture, then add the jaggery, apricots, vinegar and enough water just to cover. Bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 30–40 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and tender, and the sauce is reduced to a rich, thick consistency.
5. Serve with the potato sticks heaped on top, and scatter with coriander