Nostalgia

It was in Al-ain (UAE), in our house that we used to look forward to ammi's chicken curry or 'murghi ka shorba' after school. Me & my brother used to ask ammi to make it once or twice every week and still couldn't get enough of it. Even now when I visit Pakistan, this is the first meal that I want from ammi. Lustrous and colourful curry with succulent chicken pieces served over smoking Matar pulao (Pea pilaf).
Ammi makes it with what's called 'andaza' which is an urdu expression used for instinctive cooking without the burden of weighing and measuring. Ammi absolutely despises tasting during cooking as well. I remember she used to ask me to taste her food.
This time I've tried to write down the proportions in order to share it with you.

MURGHI KA SHORBE WAALA SAALAN (SIMPLE CHICKEN CURRY)

Chicken (bone in) 800gm
Oil 1/4th cup
Cloves 4
Cinnamon 1" stick
Black peppercorns 5
Black cardamom 1 (lightly pounded to release the flavour)
Onion Half of a medium-sized onion
Ginger paste 1.5 tsp
Garlic paste 1.5 tsp
Red chilli powder 1.5 tbsp
Haldi 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Coriander powder 1 tbsp
Beaten yoghurt 2 tbsp heaped
Garam masala powder 1/4th tsp
Hot water Half cup

First cut the onion into large chunks and dip in boiling water for 5 minutes.

Blend the onion with a tbsp of water to a smooth paste.

Now heat oil in a saucepan and add chicken.

Fry on high heat until opaque.

Take out the chicken. Add the whole spices to the hot oil and then the onion, ginger and garlic paste. This is a tricky part. Stir well on high heat until this base is cooked well. If this base is not done well the curry will taste sweet. If overdone, the curry may taste bitter. It took me about 15-17 minutes to get this part done. It depends on how much water is there in your pastes. The colour should be wheatish to light golden at the end of this stage and you shouldn't be able to smell the garlic anymore. Keep adding water to prevent it sticking to the base and burning. One way to tell it's done is that holes start appearing in this concoction and it does not splatter out liquid anymore.

Now add a little water to the pan and then the red chilli powder, turmeric powder (haldi), salt and coriander powder (dhanya). Stir well on high heat. Add the yoghurt, keep stirring and add water every so often to prevent burning.

Once the curry is a pretty orange gold colour with holes appearing in it and the oil separating, add the chicken and mix well.

Add the 1/2 cup water. My mother pours it such that the curry is washed off the surface of the chicken and the edges of the saucepan. Turn the heat to low. Sprinkle the garam masala powder and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

And the result is:

You can decorate it with ginger (julienne-cut) and fresh coriander (chopped). I like it unadulterated. This is how I had it.

Thank you ammi. I can eat this 4 times daily!