Chicken Keema

Ingredients

• 300 grams minced chicken meat
• 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 cup oil (adjust to your preference)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1.5 cups finely chopped onion
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
• 2-3 green chillies, slit (adjust to taste)
• 1.5 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tbsp canned tomato paste (or 1 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped)
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 cup finely chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)

Powder Coarsely:
• 2 pods cardamom
• 1″ piece of cinnamon
• 3 cloves
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder (optional)

Instructions
1 Place the minced chicken in a bowl and add chilli powder, turmeric powder, and salt
2 Mix well and set aside
3 Powder together the spices mentioned under “powder coarsely” above and set aside
4 Heat the oil and add cumin seeds and bay leaf
5 When the cumin seeds brown and sizzle, add the chopped onions
6 Saute until the onions turn soft, no need to brown them too much
7 Now add the fresh ginger and garlic
8 Saute saute saute
9 In go the green chillies and peas. I leave the peas out for a few minutes if using frozen but adding them straight from the freezer will work in a pinch too
10 Saute again until the peas start to turn soft – about 5-7 minutes
11 Time to add the spices. Add 2 teaspoons of the ground powder (I usually chuck it all in without measuring) and coriander powder
12 Fry for a minute until nice and fragrant
13 Now add the chicken
14 Mix everything together until well combined
15 Add the tomato paste (or fresh tomatoes) and mix again
16 Since I used canned tomato paste (the flavour is more intense and I prefer this in some dishes), I add about 4 tbsp water at this stage.  You can omit this if using fresh tomatoes
17 Mix well and cook covered for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked soft.
18 Once the chicken is cooked, add sugar and more salt if needed
19 Throw in the chopped coriander leaves
20 Mix and serve hot