Chicken In Pickling Spices "Achari Murg"

Day7 of BM#5:: Someone from the BM team was asking me why I am posting vegetarian posts when I happen to be a meat-eater. Well, I dunno. Most of the days I am content eating vegetables, greens and beans. I make an exception when hubby asks for turkey, shrimp or chicken. The last time he asked for chicken curry, which was a couple of weeks ago or so, I made this for him. He gave such rave reviews that I made it again when my sister and her hubby came for a visit. BIL sung praises about this curry and demanded the recipe. I couldn't  help bubbling with pride for my latest creation..ahem "adapted creation". The base recipe is from here.
So this posts brings the conclusion of 7 days of Curry madness. Enjoyed it very much but not as much as the last time due of Blogger putting a damper on things..So for those of you who haven't been following, here it is-
Day1: Edible Gherkin and the London Gherkin
Day2: Paneer Butter Masala/ Paneer Makhani "Lite"
Day3: Beet, Onion and Cilantro Curry + Poop Watching
Day4: Eggplant Chettinad (Will be re-posted. Looks like Blogger won't be returning this afterall!)
Day5: Skillet Cauliflower With Green Peas/Lima Beans
Day6: Bengali Chachodi - A pan-fried vegetable medley
Day7: Chicken in Pickling Spices "Achari Murgh

Ingredients:

• 4 Chicken Thighs, skins removed, cleaned and halved
• 2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil 
• 2 Green Chili, slit vertically
• 1 Ripe Medium Tomato
• 1/4 Cup Water or slightly more
• Salt as needed

For the Thick Marinade:

• 1" Ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 Garlic Cloves, peeled
• 1 Tsp Cumin Seeds
• 1 Tbsp Coriander Seeds
• 2 Dry Red Chili
• 1 Tsp Peppercorns
• 1 Stalk Curry leaves
• 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1-1/2 Tsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 1/4 Tsp Turmeric Powder

For Tempering:

• 1 Tbsp Oil
• 1 Stalk Curry Leaves
• 1/2 Tsp Cumin Seeds
• 1/8 Tsp Fennel Seeds
• 1 Tsp Mustard Seeds

Procedure:

• Dry Roast all the ingredients under the thick marinade except the Olive Oil,Salt, Turmeric Powder and Lemon juice. Roast until the seeds and spices on a medium flame until it emits a nice aroma. Add the curry leaf at the very end of roasting.

• Grind the roasted ingredients to a powder consistency. It should neither be coarse nor fine. Mix this ground mixture with the Lemon Juice, Olive Oil, Turmeric Powder and Salt. Add it to the cut and cleaned chicken. The chicken should be drained completely and dried with paper towel.

• Mix and coat the chicken with the ground marinade. Let it rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

• Warm 2-3 Tbsp of Oil in a skillet and add the chicken along with the green chili. Using tongs flip the chicken so the oil coats all sides.

• Cut the tomato, remove seeds and puree it. Pour it over the chicken and fry for 5 minutes.

• Sprinkle water and salt "as needed" (keeping in mind that there was salt in the marinade) and lid the skillet. Cook for 10 minutes or so.

• Cook the remaining time without the lid until the moisture completely evaporates.

• Switch off stove after all the moisture is evaporated.

• In a small pan, heat a tbsp of oil and temper all the ingredients under "tempering". Pour it over the chicken.

• Serve it warm with Rice.

Also check out the Blogging Marathoners doing BM#5:
Curry in a hurry under 30 min: Cool Lassi(e), Harini, Kalyani, Priya Mahadevan, Suma
Seven Days of Colorful Dishes Kid's Special: Priya Suresh, Veena,
Seven Days of Indian Sweets: Shylaja, Srivalli
Seven Days of Regional Specials: Priya Yallapantula
Under 15 mins Quick Breakfast:Aarthi, Vaishali
Enjoy!