Asian Recipes and Cooking Guide

Cooking Tips, Kitchen Skills and Recipes.....

With lashings of onions, dopiaza's popularity is timeless. The origin of the word is rather unclear. In the Hindi language "Do" means two and "piaz" is onion. Hence the popular belief that the word refers to the use of twice the amount or two different types of onions. However, dopiaza is essentially a Mogul dish and history has it that it was named after Emperor Akbar's courtier, Mullah Dopiaza. To peel the onions easily, just soak them in boiling water for 2 minutes.

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

45 ml/3 tablespoons vegetable oil

8 small onions, halved

2 bay leaves

8 green cardamom pods

4 cloves

3 dried red chilies

8 black peppercorns

2 onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2.5 cm/1 inch piece fresh root ginger, finely chopped

5 ml/1 teaspoon ground cilantro (coriander)

5 ml/1 teaspoon ground cumin

2.5 ml/½ teaspoon ground turmeric

5 ml/1 teaspoon chili powder

2.5 ml/½ teaspoon salt

4 tomatoes, skinned and finely chopped

120 ml/4 fl oz/½ cup water

8 chicken pieces, skinned

Plain boiled rice or chapatis, to serve

Method:

Heat 30 ml/2 tablespoons oil in a wok, karahi or large pan and fry the halved small onions until soft. Remove and set aside.

Add the remaining oil and fry the bay leaves, cardamoms, cloves, chilies and peppercorns for 2 minutes. Add the chopped onions, garlic and ginger and fry for 5 minutes. Add the spices and salt, and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and water to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken. Add the chicken pieces and cook for 15 minutes more.

Add the reserved small onions, then cover and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the chicken is tender. Serve with plain boiled rice or chapatis.

Happy Cooking,

Carol