India - The country of yogurt and onions...
(c) Jonathan Teng
http://www.copycatrecipes.org/

Back a few year ago when I was on a trip to India, I noticed that many
dishes were cooked in yogurt sauce and that sautéing of onions was one
of the favorite ingredient in most recipes.

When I say "onions", I mean "LOTS of onions"... It seems that most of
these Indian guys are fond of that, huh?

Anyway... let's get back to what I said earlier... :-)

Once onions were sautéed, yogurt and species were gradually added and
then the meat - chicken or lamb is cooked in this sweet-scented
mixture.

The meat will be as caramel-colored, not really browned, and the
taste? Complex as those braised European dishes.

While the mixture is being cooked, you can start preparing everything
else since it will take about 40 minutes to 1 hour for the chicken and
lamb respectively.

Most of the spices use here will sweeten the taste of the mixtu
cinnamon, cloves and ginger. In a dry skillet, you can mix together
whole spices like cinnamon, cloves, seeds, coriander and cardamom
until it you can smell their perfume and then just crush them.

Another option is to combine whole and ground spices, add also whole
cardamoms pods, cloves and cinnamon. It all depends on you.

I also noticed that cooking with yogurt tends to break over heat. But
this is not really a big problem. Here is what I recommend you to
do...

Beat cornstarch with the yogurt before adding it to the pot and keep
the heat low while the cooking last. This will not only keep the
yogurt intact but will also thicken the sauce and make it more
glorious.

Without doubt you'll want to eat it with plenty of rice. So don't
forget to prepare that too. :-)

Lamb or Chicken in Onion-Yogurt Sauce
=====================================

Salt
1 1/2 pounds lamb shoulder or leg, cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch
chunks, or 4 whole chicken legs
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon minced ginger, or 1 teaspoon dried ginger
1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
10 cardamom pods
10 cloves garlic, peeled
2 cups yogurt
2 large onions or 4 medium onions, sliced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons ground coriander
3 cloves
Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

In a large skillet or casserole, put butter and turn heat to medium-
high. Add garlic, onions and a large pinch of salt.

Stir occasionally while cooking, until you see the onions become very
soft and brown. This will take at least 15 minutes. Add and stir in
spices and cook another minute or so. Add chicken or lamb and stir.

Whisk cornstarch with yogurt, in a bowl, until smooth. Stir it into
the mixture. If you are using chicken add about 1/3 cup of water in
it. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then cover and turn
heat to low.

Cook at least 40 minutes (by which time chicken will likely be tender)
or longer, stirring occasionally, or until lamb is quite tender. Taste
and adjust seasoning, then garnish with cilantro, and serve with
basmati rice.

Yield: 4 servings.

Jonathan is a food fanatic! You can check his website at:
http://www.copycatrecipes.org/ where he reveals over 600 Secret
Restaurant Recipes in a 2 volume cookbook titled: America's Favorite
Restaurant Recipes. Check: http://www.copycatrecipes.org/