Nigella Lawson has managed to extend her influence across the Atlantic, with one of her chicken dishes featuring in a global superstar’s recipe roster. Taylor Swift, renowned for her baking skills, is also an avid cook.
She revealed to ELLE: “I’ve always cooked a lot, but I found three recipes I know I’ll be making at dinner parties for life: Ina Garten’s real meatballs and spaghetti (I just use packaged bread crumbs and only ground beef for meat), Nigella Lawson’s Mughlai chicken, and Jamie Oliver’s chicken fajitas with molé sauce.” The good news for those of us who aren’t world-famous popstars is that Nigella’s recipe isn’t a secret.
On her website, Nigella advises: “I feel very strongly that you should use the moister brown meat, from the thigh, for this, but if you prefer breast meat, and it’s a common preference, that’s your choice. I can’t pretend to understand it though.
“I am not going to pretend this is the sort of food you can bang out in a moment. One ease-making factor to be borne in mind: not only can it be made in advance, it needs to be; only after a day or two in the fridge does it have the full depth and resonance of flavour.”
Mughlai chicken
Serves: 8-10 people
Ingredients
- 2½ centimetres piece of fresh ginger (peeled)
- 4 cloves garlic (peeled)
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
- 4 tbsp ground almonds
- 5 cardamom pods (bruised)
- 1 cinnamon stick (broken in half)
- 2 tsp bay leaves
- 4 cloves
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1½kg boneless, skinless chicken thighs (each cut in 2)
- 2 onions
- 250ml Greek yoghurt
- 250ml chicken stock
- 125ml double cream
- 100g golden sultanas
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp Maldon sea salt flakes
- 75g flaked almonds
Method
Begin by placing the ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander and chilli into a food processor, blending them into a paste. Add the ground almonds and 125ml of water, blend again, and set aside.
Place the cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, bay leaves and cloves into a small bowl. (This step isn’t necessary, but it prevents you from rummaging through your cupboards for the right spices while the oil is heating.)
Heat the oil in a large pan and add the chicken pieces in batches to ensure they fry, rather than stew, and cook just long enough to seal on both sides, then remove to a dish. Add the bowlful of spices to the pan and stir them in the oil.
Peel and finely chop the onions, add them to the pan of spices, and cook until softened and lightly browned. Be sure to keep the heat low and stir frequently to prevent them from burning.
Pour in the blended paste, and cook everything until it begins to colour. Add the yogurt, 125ml at a time, stirring it in to create a sauce; then stir in the stock, cream and sultanas.
Return the seared chicken to the pan, incorporating any juices that have accumulated beneath them, and dust with garam masala, sugar, and salt. Simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes, ensuring the chicken is thoroughly cooked.
You can either remove it from the heat and reheat it the following day or transfer it to a serving dish and garnish with toasted flaked almonds.
