Off to Kashmir for the evening..

When they hear the name Kashmir, most people, particularly Americans, can probably correctly identify that it is a (disputed) region straddling India and Pakistan, but that is probably it. (In fact, given how little coverage there is of international news on many of the most-watched newscasts, perhaps many don't even know that much). Most people probably don't know much about the cuisine.

Sadly, this is because Indian and Pakistani cuisine in general, is just not as widely popular in the US as it is in the UK (and for those of you bristling, I KNOW that you can't simply group 'Indian and Pakistani cuisine' together if you are going to be completely accurate, since there are a myriad of regional variations within that). Any British town of any size, and indeed a few villages, has at least one place where you can score a great curry. I remember one time, my husband and I were staying with some friends in a rented cottage in Torridon, in the northwestern part of the Scottish highlands. Torridon is without doubt one of the most wild and isolated areas we had ever visited (not least because it felt like we were in the car for days to get there!). There was one pub in the village, in one approximately 12 foot square room, which had one person working in it. So if he was making an order of food, you couldn't order a drink, and vice versa. And what was the main item on the menu? Chicken Balti. (Baltis are curries cooked in metal bowls, which many believe to have originated in Baltistan, an area of Pakistan which borders on Kashmir). Anyway, suffice to say that there is nowhere in the UK where food from this part of the world has not reached. And rightly so, as it is pretty delicious stuff.

In case you are wondering why I am waxing (not particularly) lyrically about all things Indian (or Pakistani - trust me, I am not going to enter into that debate, so it is no use bristling), it is because the dish of the day is a Kashmiri-style chicken, cooked in my trusty slow cooker. It originated with Sara Lewis, as one of the excellent recipes in her Slow Cooker Easy book. Whilst Sara and I clearly don't completely agree on the definition of the word 'easy', this dish is worth the additional effort it takes to get out the food processor, brown the chicken etc. It may not be the easiest of easy dishes, but it isn't rocket science either. And it enables you to 'head off to Kashmir' for the evening, without leaving your own kitchen. I did tweak a bit, by adding some vegetables, thereby making it more of a one-dish meal, with the addition of some rice.

In case this whets your appetite for a few more Indian-style curries, you can find the recipe for another of my favorite chicken curries here, while there are a couple of vegetarian options here.

Kashmiri-style Chicken

2 onions, quartered
3 garlic cloves
1 1/2" piece of ginger root, peeled
1 large green chili, halved, seeds discarded
8-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 TBSP sunflower/canola oil
1 1/2 oz butter
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, crushed (use a pestle and mortar, or the back of a knife)
1 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed (ditto)
6 cardamom pods, split open (use back of a knife to crack them open)
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 pt (450ml) chicken stock
1 1/2 TBSP light brown sugar
3 TBSP tomato paste/puree
1-2  red (bell) peppers, roughly chopped
3 cups chopped fresh baby spinach leaves
7 TBSP double/whipping cream
salt
rice to serve
flaked almonds and chopped cilantro/coriander leaves to garnish

1. Put the onions, garlic, ginger and chili in a food processor and blend until almost smooth.
2. Cut each chicken thigh into 4 pieces. Heat oil in a large frying pan and sauté the chicken pieces in small batches until browned all over. Transfer to the slow cooker using a slotted spoon.
3. Add butter to the same pan and when it has melted, add the onion paste. Cook over a moderate heat, stirring, until it starts to color. Stir in the crushed seeds and cardamom pods and cook for a further minute. Add the stock, sugar, tomato paste/puree and salt, and bring to the boil, stirring.
4. Pour over the chicken in the slow cooker, and stir in the chopped bell pepper. Push the chicken under the surface of the liquid, then set the cooker to cook on LOW for 5-7 hours.
5. Stir in the spinach and cook on HIGH for a further 10-15 minutes until the spinach as wilted.
6. Stir in the cream, and serve on rice garnished with almonds and cilantro/coriander leaves.