Pepper Chicken

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This pepper chicken recipe is extremely quick and perfect for those days when you just do not have the time or energy to make an elaborate meal. I have made this with boneless chicken breast, which reduces its cook time by almost 30 minutes. Feel free to use chicken with bones if you enjoy that more, but that will take longer to cook.

Going by its name, the hero ingredient of this recipe is lots of pepper. Now, the main thing to consider here is to use fresh peppercorns, as opposed to the black pepper powder directly from the store. Using fresh pepper will give you a much sharper taste, packed with flavor and the health benefits that pepper offers. This recipe also works wonders if you have a cold or are feeling under the weather.

Like all my other recipes, this recipe is packed with flavor and taste but does not take too much time or effort. The number of ingredients is also very limited.

Here’s a look at the ingredients and procedure.

Preparation time – 20 minutes

Cook time – 30 minutes

Serves – 3-4 people

Ingredients

500 g boneless chicken
2 tbsp ghee
2 tbsp oil
15 g black peppercorns
10 g ginger
10 g garlic
2 green chilies
1 onion
2 tomatoes
1 tsp mustard seeds
A handful of fresh green curry leaves
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp fennel powder
250 ml water
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander leaves for garnish

Directions

This recipe is a dry version. It is made in two steps. The first step is making the masala for the curry with a few basic vegetables and spices. The second step is mixing the chicken with this curry paste to make the final dish.

For the paste:

Heat oil in a pan.
Add the peppercorns, chopped ginger, garlic, onion, chilies, and tomato.
Cook this for about five minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a grinder and grind it all to form a fine paste. This is the paste we will use in the next step to cook the chicken.

For the curry:

In a kadhai, heat ghee. Add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Do not burn the seeds, keep the flame on medium heat.
Add the fresh curry leaves to the ghee and give it a stir with the already spluttered mustard seeds.
Add the boneless chicken pieces and cook for about ten minutes. Keep stirring so that the chicken does not stick.
Once the chicken releases all its water, add the pepper and tomato paste. Cook this till the raw aroma disappears and the chicken cooks in the paste completely.
Season with salt, cumin powder, fennel powder, and turmeric powder.
Cover and cook for another ten minutes. Add water as per the consistency that you want.
Remove cover and garnish the chicken with freshly chopped coriander leaves.
Serve hot with plain rice, pulao or parathas.

The total time taken for this recipe is 30 minutes. It is a burst of flavors in the mouth, be it the fieriness of the fresh pepper, the creaminess of the tomato, the unique scent of the curry leaves or the heat of the green chilies.