Spicy sorrel flavoured chicken
I've been looking for a recipe in which to use sorrel which we grow in our garden. It has a sharp lemony flavour, which until now I've only found useful in salads.
I found this Hyderabadi recipe in Mr Pushpash Pent's wonderful "India": ISBN 978-0714859026
I've adapted it very slightly to make it easier for me to replicate here in the UK.
The sorrel in the original recipe is gongura (''Hibiscus sabdariffa''), which is described as sour, so our English sorrel will probably be a reasonable substitute.
| Spicy sorrel flavoured chicken | |
|---|---|
 |
| Servings: | Serves 4 |
| Calories per serving: | 500 |
| Ready in: | 1 hour, 45 minutes |
| Prep. time: | 45 minutes |
| Cook time: | 1 hour |
| Difficulty: | 
|
| Recipe author: | Chef |
| First published: | 13th November 2013 |
|
Best recipe reviewSumac works too... 5/5 I've made this with sumac from our tree, just as good as sorrel. |
Ingredients
Printable 🖨 shopping 🛒 list & 👩🍳 method for this recipe
- 2 tablespoons of ghee
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil - not authentic, but healthier than using all saturated fat (ghee)
- 4 medium onions, peeled and sliced
- 1 thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated
- 4 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 x 750g (1lb 10 oz) whole chicken cut into pieces and skin removed: see here.
- Pinch of salt
- 25 g sorrel leaves, chopped
- 2 green chillies, de-seeded and roughly chopped
- 2 red chillies, de-seeded and roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, ground to powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, ground to powder
- 1 level teaspoon chipotole chilli powder - optional if you want it quite hot
- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds, dry roasted then ground to a paste with a little water
Method
- Heat the ghee and oil in a heavy based pan or dutch oven over a medium heat.
- Gently stir-fry the onions for 8 minutes but don't let them colour
- Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for another few minutes
- Add the salt and the chicken pieces, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 40 minutes or until the chicken is properly cooked. Stir the chicken now and then. Don't worry that it will be too dry, the chicken released quite a lot of liquid so it eventually stews in it's own juices, so to speak.
- While the chicken is cooking, bring a small pan of water to the boil and add the green chillies and sorrel leaves and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Drain and allow to cool a little before blending to a paste in a feed processor or pestle and mortar - add a drop or two of the boiled water if the paste is too dry
- Add the remaining spices and poppy seed paste to the chicken and cook for 4 minutes
- Stir in the sorrel paste and cook for 2 minutes more.
Serving suggestions
Serve with plain rice, plain naan and a yogurt dip
Peeling ginger
There is no need to peel ginger. As a result of attending a Thai cookery demo, we have learnt that peeling ginger is unnecessary unless for aesthetic purposes as the skin is high in fibre and full of flavour. However, do remove any bits that have become tough or woody.
Discover Cookipedia's Culinary Creations on Pinterest
Explore the vibrant world of Cookipedia through our Pinterest page! We've curated a stunning collection of recipes that highlight the beauty of home-cooked dishes. It's the perfect way to visually navigate our extensive recipe library and get inspired by the flavours we’ve shared over the years. Dive in and discover your next favorite meal—one picture at a time!
#chicken #sorrel #ground #spicysorrelflavouredchicken #onions #greenchillies #ginger #ghee #jointingachicken #simmer #englishsorrel