Easy and Light Chicken Akni

Akni is my favourite Indian rice dish. It’s so delicious that I was under the impression that its wonderful flavour was directly related to its level of difficulty. I could not have been more wrong.

Dear Akni,

I love that you only require one pot. I love that you only require 1 tablespoon of oil. I love that you are moist, even without the raita. I love that even if  I leave you on the stove for too long, you are still as delicious. I love that I don’t need to cook for three days after preparing you.

Love,

Lilla Sniggel

Akni

2 tblspn oil

1 large onion, chopped finely

• Heat oil in a wide pot. Braise onions.

 

2 tsp whole cumin

5 cardamom pods, cracked open

7 cloves

2 sticks of cinnamon

12 peppercorns

1 cup of warm water

• Soak the spices listed above in the water for a few minutes.
• Add to the pot. Allow to boil for about 5 minutes.

 

1 chicken, cleaned and disjointed

1 tblspn ginger paste

1 tblspn garlic paste

1 tspn salt

2 tspn ground cumin

½ tspn turmeric

• Add the chicken and spices to the put. Mix well. Allow chicken to cook.

 

2 cups of chopped/grated tomato

3 tspn chilli powder

2 tspn coriander powder

2 tblspn plain yogurt

• Once chicken is cooked, add the ingredients listed above to the pot. Allow to thicken.

 

3 potatoes, each one cut into 4 equal pieces

2 cups basmati rice

4 cups of boiling water

• Add the above ingredients to the pot. Cook on high heat and stir often. Once the water has almost depleted, turn down the heat and allow to simmer.
• Serve with coriander raita (see recipe below).

 

Coriander Raita

500 ml plain yogurt

Green Masala (you will only need about 3 tspn)

• 1 bunch of coriander leaves (about 4 cups)
• 4 green chillies
• 1 tblspn garlic paste
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tblspn lemon juice
• 1 tblspn olive oil

Liquidise all of the above ingredients. Even though you will only use a few teaspoons for the raita to be served with the akhni, the rest can be refrigerated and used to marinate chicken or in other dishes.

For the raita, mix the yogurt with about 3 tspns of the green masala. Serve with the akhni.

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