Thread by @DrSidMukherjee

Ok, cumin, coriander, red chilies ready to roast. You can roast a few garlic cloves if you’d like too

Starting in 15 minutes. Get the rice cooking

If you have WHOLE cumin and coriander, then roast them on a pan until the coriander pops (3-5 minutes) and then grind in a spice grinder

Ok 1.5 tbsp of cumin and coriander and 1 tbsp of red chilies roasting

Once it starts smoking and aromatic take it off IMMEDIATELY. Add 1 tbsp of turmeric. That’s your master mix

Ok. Now the complicated part. Split the master mix into two parts. Mix half of the spice mix with 1 cup of full fat yoghurt. Leave the other half alone.

Mix the yoghurt and spice mix with the skin on chicken. Rub it in with your hands. Poke it in with a fork. Add salt to taste. Leave aside

Now, donate $20 to a food kitchen if you haven’t done so. If you don’t like food kitchens, donate to whatever you want. Climate change action; forest preservation; local bookstore; whatever. It’s like “curry”. There’s no recipe

Next, you’ll need two onions. Chop them as finely as you can. Or food process them. You’ll want to make as close to a paste as possible. Use a mixer or grinder if you have one.

Add 2-3 cloves of garlic, and 1 tbsp of ginger and grind into the onion paste

Have you donated to your favorite cause ? I have

Once it’s as close to a paste as you can get, add the master spice mix to it. Put cooking oil in a pan and start frying the onion-garlic-ginger-spice mix

Fry fry fry fry. Watch the rice.

Once the mix is golden brown, add the chicken-spice-yoghurt mix and fry fry fry

Frying is the crucial part. You’ll want to lose the extra water that the onions have. If you didn’t have organic chicken, they also have too much water...

Fry fry fry. Don’t be afraid of it burning a little. If the oil disappears, add a little more. You want it to be a deep brown color.

Now, while you fry, think of the pandemic and the hungry people out there. If you have the cash, put in $20 to your charity of choice. These folks are going without dinner tonight

I’m still frying the mix. Chicken. Yoghurt. Spices. Onions. Garlic. Ginger. Oil. Salt. It’s taking a while but let it.

Still frying. Adding little dollops of oil once it dries out. This is the crucial part.

Once the whole mix is deep brown, add one or two sliced green chilies if you can take the heat.

You can skip the chilies if you want a mild version

Ok if it’s deep brown, and the skin a little burnt, add just half a cup of water and a dollop of butter(or ghee) and adjust taste for salt and spice. It’s very flexible at this stage.

It should smell amazing by now

Now add the coriander leaves if you have them and 1/2 tbsp of Garam masala. Also 6 cloves of green cardamom if you have. All optional

And now you have many choices

First, finish your donation to your favorite cause.

Then:
1. 1/2 can of coconut milk and curry leaves and lemon zest for a Southern version
2. 1/2 tbsp of Mustard oil, lemon zest and a TINY pinch of sugar for a Bengali version

3. 1/3 can of tomato paste (or chopped tomatoes) and a good dollop of heavy cream for a North Indian version

4 Let the mix simmer (not boil). Check if the chicken is cooked through. Please tell me that you used skin-on organic chicken otherwise it’ll get stringy.

Once the chicken is cooked through, garnish to taste (chilies, garam masala, salt, fresh onions, dollop of ghee)

Add cilantro leaves on top. Serve with the hot rice. Enjoy. Open a bottle of your favorite beverage.

It’s a very forgiving recipe.