Kombdi, Jira Ghalun (Cumin-Scented Chicken)
By Kaumudi MarathéPublished on April 19, 2021
Time
1¼ hours, plus 1 hour marinating
Yield
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
You can substitute 2 tablespoons of Indian red chile powder for the paprika and cayenne, if desired. We strongly recommend toasting and grinding your own whole cumin seeds for this recipe, but you can substitute 7 teaspoons of ground cumin, if desired. If using ground cumin, toast it in an 8-inch skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 1½ minutes. This recipe can also be made with 2¾ pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of the drumsticks. If using breasts, cook until the meat registers 160 degrees in step 6, 18 to 25 minutes. If you enjoy spicy food, use the full 1½ teaspoons of cayenne. For a milder version, reduce the amount of cayenne to ½ teaspoon. Serve with rice or Indian bread and extra yogurt or our Onion Raita.
Instructions
- Process ⅓ cup water, yogurt, garlic, ginger, paprika, 2 teaspoons salt, and cayenne in blender until smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of blender jar as needed. Transfer yogurt marinade to bowl.
- Process tomatoes in now-empty blender until coarsely pureed, about 5 seconds. Transfer to second bowl.
- Add chicken to bowl with yogurt marinade and toss to coat, rubbing marinade into chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours (if marinating longer than 1 hour, cover and refrigerate tomatoes as well).
- Heat cumin seeds in 8-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer to spice grinder or mortar and pestle and grind to powder; set aside.
- Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add onion and remaining 1 teaspoon salt and cook until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add tomatoes; increase heat to high; and cook until mixture darkens slightly and begins to stick to bottom of pot, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add chicken, along with any marinade left in bowl, and remaining 3 cups water and bring to boil. Cover; reduce heat to medium-low; and simmer, stirring occasionally, until chicken registers at least 175 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Using tongs, transfer chicken to large plate. Increase heat to high and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened and reduced to about 2¾ cups, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir cumin into sauce. Add chicken back to pot and stir to coat with sauce. Serve, sprinkled with cilantro and passing extra yogurt separately.
Time
1¼ hours, plus 1 hour marinatingYield
Serves 4 to 6Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
It is a simple, aromatic recipe adapted by us from Kaumudi Marathé's The Essential Marathi Cookbook (2009) and shared with Kaumudi by her friend Anuradha Samant. The Marathas are known for elaborately created, deeply flavored meat dishes. This recipe is an exception in that it is not elaborate and it can easily be made on a weeknight. But it proves the rule that braising meats produces deeply nuanced flavors. The chicken is first marinated in yogurt, garlic, and ginger and then it's braised in a tomato-onion sauce until it's tender and cooked through. Unlike north Indian recipes, which often rely on warm spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves to add aromatic flavor, this dish calls for only cumin. But the chicken is not braised with the ground spice. The cumin is added just before serving so that its smokiness adds fresh top notes to both the chicken and the sauce. Cook drumsticks for a quick, fragrant, oh-so-satisfying dinner, served with rice or Indian bread.
Before You Begin
You can substitute 2 tablespoons of Indian red chile powder for the paprika and cayenne, if desired. We strongly recommend toasting and grinding your own whole cumin seeds for this recipe, but you can substitute 7 teaspoons of ground cumin, if desired. If using ground cumin, toast it in an 8-inch skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 1½ minutes. This recipe can also be made with 2¾ pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of the drumsticks. If using breasts, cook until the meat registers 160 degrees in step 6, 18 to 25 minutes. If you enjoy spicy food, use the full 1½ teaspoons of cayenne. For a milder version, reduce the amount of cayenne to ½ teaspoon. Serve with rice or Indian bread and extra yogurt or our Onion Raita.
Instructions
- Process ⅓ cup water, yogurt, garlic, ginger, paprika, 2 teaspoons salt, and cayenne in blender until smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of blender jar as needed. Transfer yogurt marinade to bowl.
- Process tomatoes in now-empty blender until coarsely pureed, about 5 seconds. Transfer to second bowl.
- Add chicken to bowl with yogurt marinade and toss to coat, rubbing marinade into chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours (if marinating longer than 1 hour, cover and refrigerate tomatoes as well).
- Heat cumin seeds in 8-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer to spice grinder or mortar and pestle and grind to powder; set aside.
- Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add onion and remaining 1 teaspoon salt and cook until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add tomatoes; increase heat to high; and cook until mixture darkens slightly and begins to stick to bottom of pot, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add chicken, along with any marinade left in bowl, and remaining 3 cups water and bring to boil. Cover; reduce heat to medium-low; and simmer, stirring occasionally, until chicken registers at least 175 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Using tongs, transfer chicken to large plate. Increase heat to high and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened and reduced to about 2¾ cups, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir cumin into sauce. Add chicken back to pot and stir to coat with sauce. Serve, sprinkled with cilantro and passing extra yogurt separately.
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