I love simple one-pot meals, I can easily prepare on the busy days. And that’s absolutely one of them. Years ago I got Pakistani chicken drumsticks recipe from my mum (with foil package attached, like a proper drug dealer), she got this from a friend, who got the recipe from… and so on 🙂 There was garam masala and ground coriander in the foil package of course 🙂

The original recipe required chicken drumsticks, but after first attempt we’ve decided to swap drumsticks for chicken breasts or chicken thighs (which I like the most) and add some carrots (the go great with it). I wouldn’t be myself without doing adjustments, but we’ve loved the idea and spices. And this become one of our favorites chicken meals.

Garam masala is a mixture of spices literally meaning “hot spice” – black peppercorns, fennel, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, cumin and coriander. Spices are first roasted and then finely ground. According to this website garam masala was formulated to prevent water-borne diseases, which were very common in ancient India during rainy season. So we have a great mix of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, anticancer, lipid-lowering and cardiovascular disease-lowering compounds. This will not only warm your body, but also if you consume this blend more frequently, you might see some health improvement. Spices raise the temperature of your body and this stimulates better digestion.

You can serve it with addition of your choice: rice, couscous, naan bread or salad. This recipe is also keto friendly and gluten free.

So that’s how final recipe looks like. Most of the times I use chicken thighs, they are not as dry as breasts and also sometimes I don’t use tomatoes in the recipe. It depends of the day. Both versions, with and without tomatoes tastes great.

garam masala chicken

INGREDIENTS

• 500g chicken thighs
• 3 medium red onions (brown will be fine as well)
• 3 small carrots
• fresh ginger – about 1 inch
• 3 garlic cloves
• ½ can of chopped tomatoes / ½ glass of tomato passata / couple teaspoons of tomato paste
• natural rock salt to taste
• pinch of chilli flakes or cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp mild curry
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 2-3 tsp ground coriander seed
• 3-4 tsp garam masala powder
• 400ml coconut milk
• 2 tbsp coconut oil

DIRECTIONS

Chop your chicken in a quite big chunks, slice onions lengthwise. Also slice garlic cloves and chop ginger (I cut thin slices and then very thin stripes). Peel carrots, rinse them well and cut in thin slices.

Heat the large skillet, add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. Toss the chicken and fry on high heat until golden brown. Season with salt, add onion, ginger and garlic. Fry together 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Now lower the heat, add all your spices, stir, so all the chicken will cover in spices. Pour can of coconut milk, season with some more salt. Add carrots. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Then add chopped tomatoes, passata or tomato paste. If you think it’s too thick add a little bit of water. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes.

Serve hot with addition of your choice: rice, couscous or salad.

Enjoy!