On a lazy Sunday all I want to do is throw some ingredients into a pot and let it cook itself for lunch. This Sunday was something like that for me. I didn’t want to grind any masala or cook things in batches or even use the oven. So I cooked chicken in a spicy broth with tomatoes and a few spices, threw in some cooked chickpeas and let it all come to a simmer. Easy peasy. I also made some foxtail millet instead of rice and quite liked it. I guess I’m lazy to even write this post now.
Yield: 3 – 4 portions
Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Ingredients:
Boneless chicken – 500 gm
Cooked chickpeas – 1 cup
Cherry tomatoes – handful, quartered
Regular tomatoes – 2 pureed roughly
Onion – 1 chopped
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Chilli powder – 2 tsp
Cumin – 1 tsp
Garam masala – 1 tsp
Coriander leaves for freshness
Salt to taste
Water and oil to cook
Method:
Heat oil in a pan and saute onions in it. Add the cumin and ginger garlic paste.
Cook onions turn soft.
Add the chicken pieces and let them brown on one side.
Now add the tomato puree, cherry tomatoes and chilli powder along with salt and a cup of water.
You could also add a chicken stock cube at this point to enhance the flavour.
Cover and cook on medium flame for 15 mins or till chicken is cooked.
Toss the chickpeas in and mix well.
Top with lots of coriander leaves.
Foxtail millet:
Foxtail millet is a grain that looks very similar to khus khus (white poppy seeds). It’s called Navane is Kannada and Kangni in Hindi. I don’t know if it is easily available at your local grocers, but it sure is at any supermarket. Even better that it’s readily available online as well. It’s a great substitute for white polished rice in your diet.
Cooking it:
I first soaked a cup of the millet in warm water for about an hour before cooking it. I used a pressure cooker. 1 cup millets require 1.5 cups of water. Let it cook in the pressure cooker till two whistles are let out and immediately take it off the heat. Let the pressure drop on its own and take the lid off. Wait for 2-3 mins and then using a fork fluff it so the grains separate. There!
