A very warm welcome to my guest chef, Milan. We go way back — all the way to our art college days, when we were, quite frankly, the kings of the kitchen. While everyone else was probably living on Pot Noodles, they definitely weren’t on our shopping list. We loved cooking together, experimenting with flavours and, most importantly, sharing our best-kept recipes. Fast-forward all these years, and Milan is back in the kitchen, sharing one of his go-to dishes: a wonderfully simple jeera chicken. Cumin is the star here, bringing a warm, earthy flavour, while fresh ginger, garlic, green chilli, curry leaves and coriander add layers of fragrance and freshness. It’s the kind of dish that proves you really don’t need a long list of spices or hours in the kitchen to make something seriously delicious. Simple ingredients, big flavours — and ready in minutes.
INGREDIENTS
4 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tbsp of ghee or vegetable oil
A handful of fresh curry leaves
Salt and black pepper
Ground cumin
A thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped or grated
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 red onions or a few shallots, sliced lengthways
3 green chillies, sliced — or to taste
A splash of water
Fresh coriander, roughly chopped
METHOD
If you have time, marinate the chicken first. Add a little oil, salt, pepper, and a generous sprinkle of ground cumin to the chicken and mix well. Leave it for 20–30 minutes, or longer if you have time.
Heat the ghee or oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat.
Add the curry leaves and let them crackle and sizzle for a few seconds.
Next, add the chicken and cook until it starts to colour. Sprinkle over more cumin as it cooks — this is a jeera chicken, so don’t be shy with it.
Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry for a minute or two.
Add the onions and cook until they begin to soften while still keeping a little bite.
Now add the green chillies and another generous sprinkle of cumin. How much you use is completely down to taste.
If the pan starts looking a little dry, add a splash of water and stir everything together. You want the chicken coated in all those lovely cumin-y juices rather than swimming in sauce.
Once the chicken is cooked through, add in a handful of fresh coriander and give everything a final toss.
Serve with rice, naan, or simply straight from the pan.
