I was reading Judith Jones’s “My Life In Food” and she mentioned that her mother banned garlic from the kitchen because it covered the natural smell of the food. Instantly, it got me thinking about my mom’s cooking style and how she uses garlic only when she is preparing meat. As for me, it’s almost like a routine I follow while preparing any savory dish – first smash couple of garlic cloves and then comes the rest of the flavor profile. I didn’t grow up eating ton load of garlic but then, how did I fell in love with garlic? I really don’t have any answer to that.
I believe that there is no right or wrong way of cooking. It’s all about one’s palate and individual style. Hence, no matter how much mom disliked my idea of adding garlic almost everywhere, I stood by it. Recently when I started experimenting a few dishes without garlic, I won’t deny that I missed the flavor but it’s also true that it tasted different – good different. I will save that story for some other day.
As for today, let’s indulge in garlic and I mean, lots and lots of garlic. This is a dish for the garlic fans.
What I love the most about this curry is that it’s fuss free, it doesn’t have a long list of ingredients and it cooks fast. It’s just what we all look for these days. Let me warn you that while preparing the dish, your house will smell of garlic and you might see yourself digging in the hot pan for a quick lick, just to stop yourself from drooling. I totally did that. Garlic breath, well yeah! But I am sure you can deal with it for a while. It might not be a great idea to prepare this dish for your date unless your date adores garlic.
It was not a problem for us at all. We ate a lot plus some more the next day. And then I thanked my friend, Prerna for making our bellies so happy. She is a rock star with Indian cuisines and I knew this dish would be a success too, just didn’t knew it would become my favorite.
Something tells me that Judith Jones’s mother might have changed her kitchen rule if she had tasted this garlic chicken.
Now tell me, are you are garlic fan?
Garlic Chicken
Adapted from Indian Simmer, this is a quick and fuss free chicken curry filled with robust garlic flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken, boneless or with bones
- 15 garlic cloves
- 1 inch ginger, grated
- 1/4 cup yogurt
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 bay leafs
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 3 green chilies, slit in center
- salt
- oil
Instructions
- Grate 10 cloves of garlic and mix it with grated ginger, yogurt, turmeric and salt. Marinate chicken pieces with the mixture and let it rest for at least 5 hours. Keeping it overnight would make it more flavorful.
- Bring a wok or deep pan to medium heat. Add oil, green chili, bay leaves and rest of the garlic (smashed). Once the oil is infused, add onion and sauté until it turns slightly golden. Finally, add the marinated chicken and stir it to mix everything together. Allow it to cook at medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally in between.
- Taste for salt and add any, if required.
- Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro and serve with steamed rice or Indian flat bread.
Notes
It’s usually a dry curry but if you like gravy, feel free to add water while cooking chicken and adjust salt accordingly.
Comments are closed.
Lail | With A Spin
October 7, 2013 at 9:22 PMI’m a garlic fan all the way! Wouldn’t give it up. Love that garlic photo with the turmeric background.
Shumaila The Novice
October 7, 2013 at 9:24 PMOh, garlic, how I love thee!!!
I so wish I could be there in your kitchen when you made this, I would have devoured it! Gorgeous clicks as always Kankana and a lip smacking dish!
Sarah | TheSugarHit
October 7, 2013 at 11:07 PMTHIS CURRY LOOKS AMAZING. I want to eat is times 1000. I am a huge garlic fan, so this is RIGHT up my alley. YUM.
Nami | JOC
October 7, 2013 at 11:22 PMTraditional Japanese food doesn’t use too much garlic (very rare), so whenever I go to Taiwan to visit my in-laws, I have hard time digesting garlic (lots of garlic in almost all food). I love garlic but my body cannot digest that much I guess. I enjoy cooking with garlic, and this chicken sounds fantastic!
Ash-foodfashionparty
October 8, 2013 at 12:05 AMGarlic, how much I love it, can’t live without it.
A perfect combination and a simple yet very flavorful dish. Lovely pictures as usual.
indugetscooking
October 8, 2013 at 1:04 AMI grew up eating ton load of garlic! And totally love it. Added generously in all dishes except Kerala stir fires. My mom says it protects us from diseases!
Love, love, love the garlic chicken. Would surely try it out.
Anita Menon
October 8, 2013 at 1:08 AMLooks amazing! The photos are fantastic
Poornima
October 8, 2013 at 3:55 AMThe curry looks amazing and I love that it has lots of garlic. Stunning pictures, love the second one!
Marie @ Little Kitch
October 8, 2013 at 4:25 AMI’m crazy about garlic! This dish sounds delicious, and the photos are absolutely stunning.
Cecilia
October 8, 2013 at 4:55 AMOh my, it’s only breakfast but I would eat a bowl of that. I love garlic. Your blog is absolutely beautiful!
Chitrangada
October 8, 2013 at 6:06 AMG for garlic, from alubhaja to musur dal…I love garlic. Love this recipe, sounds great.
Grandbaby Cakes
October 8, 2013 at 6:20 AMTwo things I love in one. Garlic and chicken. Gorgeous photos!
[email protected]
October 8, 2013 at 6:23 AMLove garlic so this recipe looks just tasty and amazing, pinned it.
Shema | LifeScoops
October 8, 2013 at 6:32 AMEasy chicken recipes are always a keeper… Nice clicks as always dear!
Kiran
October 8, 2013 at 10:44 AMSo delicious!! Love anything that’s garlicky and masaledar 😉 Lovely clicks, K!
Nusrat Azim
October 8, 2013 at 11:52 AMCan’t live without garlic :)Period :)Mom used to make similar type of garlicky chicken back in the days. Your post brought me back to my Mom’s kitchen.
Mesmerizing, hypnotizing photos, as always. Loved everything about them. Light, frame, angle, composition…
You’re such a treasure, Kankana!
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
October 8, 2013 at 12:01 PMI love these flavors, wonderful curry!
Coco in the Kitchen
October 8, 2013 at 12:04 PMGotta keep those vampires at bay!
Manju @ Manju'sEatin
October 8, 2013 at 12:32 PMSame here…never grew up eating too much garlic, but its a must now in all my savory dishes as well…Lovely recipe and good to see you back after a while 😉
[email protected] is How I C
October 8, 2013 at 3:31 PMI couldn’t live without garlic! Love this recipe!
Medha
October 8, 2013 at 3:49 PMIt looks like garlic fans’ get-togather here!I am huge garlic fan- specially with Chicken and love your gorgeous pictures. I have to make this curry tonight for dinner:)
Tika Hapsari Nilmada
October 8, 2013 at 6:28 PMBeautiful photos, Kana 🙂
Garlic gives sensational taste to the food. Would love to give it a try !
nags
October 8, 2013 at 6:52 PMlove this post, and yes, i am definitely a garlic fan!
Rosa
October 8, 2013 at 11:17 PMExactly, there is no right or wrong when cooking… I use garlic a lot and I find that it doesn’t cover the natural taste of food. All the contrary. But then again, being a garlic fan, I’m slightly biased!
This dish looks and sounds fabulous!
Cheers,
Rosa
nandoo
October 9, 2013 at 8:47 AMSame here. Was not used to garlic during childhood but now it is unavoidable. Love this post. Garlic chicken looks tempting.
Food to Fitness
October 10, 2013 at 1:11 AMYou have a beautiful blog. Thanks for the recipe. It looks delicious.
rebecca
October 10, 2013 at 7:54 PMlooks great and love how fast it cooks
easyfoodsmith
October 11, 2013 at 5:21 AMI can’t imagine a single day without garlic!! It is an omnipresent element in most of the meals that I make.
Your garlic chicken has captured my imagination.
Sihi
October 12, 2013 at 12:22 PMHi Kankana,
Definitely a ‘yes’ on garlic. Lovely clicks.
Best,
Sihi
Caroline
October 13, 2013 at 4:39 AMHi. My name is Caroline. I love searching food blogs. I have a few favorites. My 5 kids (yes, 5) love what I find. I love two blogs, yours and another called “Cooking With Mr. C.” (on Facebook which also takes you to the blog) Between the two of you, I’m kept very busy. Keep up the wonderful work. It’s so appreciated.
Caroline
Joyti
October 13, 2013 at 7:47 PMYes, definitely a garlic lover here! I use it in my cooking more often than not.
The chicken dish sounds lovely and flavorful but still simple, and yes, Prerna’s dishes are sooo good! Thanks for sharing your lovely photographs with us 🙂
Kulsum
October 13, 2013 at 8:00 PMIf you don’t like garlic, you can’t be friends with me, is what I usually tell people 🙂 I was working on a post about ginger chicken while browsing and saw your new post on garlic chicken! So good to see you back.
nipponnin
October 15, 2013 at 5:40 PMI love garlic! The aroma is fantastic. I just used a lots in my pork recipe. Your garlic pic is stunning! And others are equally beautiful!
Kitchen Belleicious
October 15, 2013 at 7:38 PMoh wow! this is like having the 50 cloves of garlic chicken but without all the time and energy added to it. I mean it is full of amazing flavor !
Liren
October 16, 2013 at 8:55 AMMost definitely. I can’t live without garlic, and because of me, my husband seems to think that Filipinos are the world’s largest consumers of garlic. While I’m not sure of that assumption, I am certain that this is my kind of dish.
Reem | Simply Reem
October 19, 2013 at 6:38 PMOK so I come back to this post to read the recipe as I get ready to plunge into garlicy goodness and realize I have not left comment…. Can you believe it! I mean I read the post same day.. I drooled thinking about this everyday and I missed to leave a comment..
Anyways I am just loving this! Amen to the Garlic Goodness!
dixya
October 24, 2013 at 12:50 PMim the same way when it comes to garlic..i will definitely be thinking of this when i make chicken next time 🙂
ATasteOfMadness
October 24, 2013 at 9:54 PMWhoa.. this chicken is making me hungry!! I love garlic, this looks perfect for me!