Chicken and Apricot Masala

By DreiFromBK

I love curry, but on the whole I am not interested in cooking that involves too much spice-grinding or many-layered processes. Thus this chicken masala is my version of a curry: it demands little effort and delivers a huge amount of flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried apricots
• 1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 4 cloves
• 4 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1/4 cup peanut oil
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, diced
• 4 medium tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste, diluted in 1/2 cup water
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves

Details

Adapted from cooking.nytimes.com

Preparation

Step 1

Soak apricots overnight in 2 cups cold water, or cover with 2 cups hot water and soak until swollen and softened, 2 to 3 hours.
Prepare masala: In a small bowl, combine hot pepper flakes, cumin, coriander, cloves, cardamom, garlic and ginger. Add 1/4 cup water, and stir to make a paste. Set aside.
In a large sauté pan over medium heat, heat oil and cinnamon stick. Add onions and salt, and sauté until onions begin to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Add masala, and stir. Add chicken, and stir for about 5 minutes. Add apricots and their soaking liquid, diced tomatoes and diluted tomato paste.
Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes. Check cooking liquid about halfway through; if chicken is covered with liquid, remove cover for remainder of cooking. Transfer to a large bowl, sprinkle with cilantro and serve hot.