Balti baby chicken in tamarind sauce is an incredible dish with a medley of sweet and sour flavours cooked with a whole list of aromatic spices giving this dish a rich, tangy and exotic taste and flavour. Balti baby chicken is cooked in a fabulous tangy tamarind sauce along with amazing curry spices like chilli powder, curry leaves, desiccated coconut, dried red chillies, fenugreek seeds, fresh green chillies, ginger garlic paste, ground coriander, ground cumin, kalonji (onion seeds), poppy seeds, sesame seeds, tomato ketchup garnished with freshly chopped coriander leaves.
This is extremely a richly spiced and aromatic dish one could just understand reading the list of ingredients used. Balti baby chicken in tamarind sauce is unique and has distinctive flavours from various spices added into it. The inclusion of tomato ketchup and little sugar balance the fieriness and spiciness from variety of chillies added, hence giving a sweet and sour taste to the dish.
As this dish is traditionally cooked and served in a karahi (a small Indian wok), hence the name Balti. 'Balti' food is named after the pot in which it is cooked. That origin of the word is to do with the Urdu and Hindi word balty or balti, which means "bucket."
As mentioned in the late nineteenth century in Hobson-Jobson, the term 'balti' refers to the steel or iron pot in which the food is cooked or served, taken from the word 'balti', which is derived from the Portuguese word 'balde', meaning bucket/pail, which was taken to the Indian subcontinent by the Portuguese on their seafaring enterprises in late fifteenth century. Therefore, originally, the word 'Balti' refers to a bucket, then evolving to its meaning as a cooking pot.
Balti Chicken being a type of Pakistani cooking, there are still Balti people living in the northernmost regions of Pakistan. Balistan was once an independent kingdom and now a part of Pakistan commonly known as ‘little Tibet’. The Balti people are amazing people and welcome outsiders and love sharing their history and aromatic food with visitors. Balti is said to be a type of Kashmiri curry as the name refers to the place where it originated as well as the dish in which it is cooked and served.
Balti baby chicken in tamarind sauce is simple to prepare but their flavours are complex as this food reflects the tribal, nomadic culture; alluring the palates and giving heat to the body to bear the extreme weather through the hilly regions.
This dish is a simple stir fry method of cooking using a wok or kadai to make a quick and lavish Indian curry. Balti Gosht or pot roasted meat is one of the very popular dishes cooked for the main course on Bakri-Eid. Chicken Balti is also another delicious and popular dish.
It is best that this dish be eaten with your fingers served with rice or naan. This recipe is adapted from the Pakistani style of cooking. To prepare this luscious recipe, firstly put the tomato ketchup, tamarind paste and water into a large mixing bowl and using a fork mix all ingredients well together.
Add chilli powder, salt, sugar, ginger garlic paste, desiccated coconut, sesame seeds, ground cumin and ground coriander to the mixture and mix well. Add the chicken pieces and stir until they are well coated with the spicy mixture. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a deep round bottomed frying pan (skillet) or large kadai and when the oil becomes hot; add fry curry leaves, kalonji (onion seeds), dried red chillies and fenugreek seeds. Fry for a minute and lower the heat to medium heat and add the chicken pieces along with their sauces, 2 or 3 pieces at a time keep mixing as you go.
When all the pieces are in the pan, stir them around well using a slotted spoon. Simmer gently for about 12 to 15 minutes or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Finally, add the cherry tomatoes, finely chopped coriander leaves and slit green chillies. Serve with aromatic basmati rice or fried rice or naan or roti.
This also tastes well with pita bread. Cherry tomatoes are used in a variety of dishes eaten simply on their own as a snack or added in salads. It is also used as garnishes for main dishes of all different origins, ranging from couscous to a beefsteak. They may also be found in salsas or guacamole. Curries are great family meal that is simple and quick to prepare. Do try this recipe and enjoy its exotic taste. For detailed recipe, click on the below link:
https://www.vahrehvah.com/balti-baby-chicken-in-tamarind-sauce-recipe
Enjoy Cooking!