Chicken Pathia

This may be the best homemade curry you ever make!

This has to be one of my most popular curry recipes. I first had it in local Indian restaurant but Pathia originates from Persia. It’s very different to most homemade curries you may have made. It’s slightly smoky, ever so slightly sweet & it has a lovely balance of fragrant family friendly medium spice. Oven baking and using thighs means the meat is meltingly tender and the sauce is rich and thick. As always with a curry, there are a fair few ingredients but most go into the paste which is whizzed in a blender. Once that’s done all you need to do is cook off some sliced onions, add the paste, chicken, tomatoes and stock and pop it in the oven. Or you can use your slow cooker. I served this Pathia with homemade Naan bread & pilau rice.

INGREDIENTS for 4-6:
12 chicken thighs
Groundnut oil
2 onions, sliced
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
200ml stock

For the paste
2 onions
2 red chillies
5 cloves of garlic
10cm fresh ginger
3 jarred red peppers
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp ground coriander
2 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp salt

Blitz all the paste ingredients together in a processor.

Heat an ovenproof pan with a little oil and add the sliced onions. Colour for 5 minutes.

Add the curry paste, chicken, chopped tomatoes and stock. (Omit the stock if using a slow cooker).

Stir, bring to a simmer then bake in oven at 170 fan for 1 hour 15 minutes. Alternatively, leave the curry in a slow cooker for 7-8 hours on the low setting, removing the lid for the final hour so that the sauce reduces.