Chicken and Chickpea Curry

This is one of those dishes with maximum reward for absolute minimal effort. Make the marinade, pop everything in a bag and leave it overnight in the fridge, it can’t get easier.

I first came across the recipe on my friend Selma’s fantastic blog called Selma’s Table. The dish was aptly named Extraordinary Roasted Chicken, Potatoes and Chickpeas and she had won a Food 52 contest for “The Best One Pot Meal” with the dish.  A few days later I asked her if I could make it for this blog and she graciously agreed. I also had the audacity to ask if I could give it my own twist and she was more than happy for me to twist away. So this Chicken and Chickpea Curry is the delicious end result.

I wanted to simplify the ingredients even more so had two ideas. If it was summer, I would keep the aromatics in the yoghurt marinade to just lemon, garlic and loads of rosemary. All flavours that work fantastic with chicken, potatoes and chickpeas. I think it would make a wonderful summer dinner with a crisp salad and a bottle of wine. But since we still have the odd cool day at the moment, I decided to go the spicy route and add a curry mix (and some more chilli).

I was so happy with the results that I made it twice in one week, playing with different flavours. With the potatoes and chickpeas I don’t think you need to worry about rice and I just added a few naan breads which I bought from the Eastern Food Bazaar, just around the corner from me. Add some plain yoghurt, chopped coriander and a few bottles of beer and you have a pretty satisfying dinner. Perfect for when you have some friends over during the week.

I do love a delicious curry and I have another fabulous recipe on the blog, this Chicken and Chickpea Coconut Curry, which is one of the most popular recipes I have posted and definitely worth a try as well.

Chicken and Chickpea Curry

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Ingredients

  

• 1 tin chickpeas 400g
• 700 g baby potatoes halved if on the small side, otherwise quartered.
• 4 cloves garlic peeled and bashed
• 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs or thighs and drumsticks
• Marinade
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Juice of 1 large lemon
• 100 ml plain yoghurt
• 2 tbsp fruit chutney
• 2 1 bsp curry powder or curry paste of your choice
• 1 tsp or more chilli flakes (optional and to taste)
• 6 cardamom pods – bruised
• 1 heaped tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

 

• Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl.
• Drain and rinse the chickpeas and place with the chicken, potatoes and garlic in a large freezer bag or plastic container.
• Add the marinade and give it all a good mix.
• Close the bag or container and place in the fridge for about 24 hours (or at least over night). Turn it over every time you open the fridge.
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C
• Place all the ingredients in a single layer in a large roasting tray and cover tightly with foil.
• Roast for one hour. After an hour check the potatoes. If still slightly raw, pop it back in the oven, covered with foil for a further 15 minutes.
• Remove the foil and roast for a further 15 minutes until the chicken and potatoes begin to crisp. Keep a close eye that the marinade does not start to burn.
• Serve with plain yoghurt, chopped coriander, naan bread and beer
• Adapted from Selma's Table

Wine suggestion by Conrad Louw, CWM: Curry is always a great culinary pleasure to pair wine with.  If it is mild, go for a fragrant white such as a well-made Riesling; Gewürztraminer or Bukettraube.  Especially when using cardamom pods, which makes it very fragrant, the pleasure will be there.  As a personal preference, I like hot curry, which makes the “chicken or beef?” option very easy – go for red, and by red I mean “local is lekker” – Pinotage.  My latest 2 top Pinotages are without a doubt Wildekrans Pinotage 2012 available at selected shops, or at their cellars in Botriver.  And then if you feel like really treating yourself – Rijk’s Pinotage Reserve 2010. Now that is a big red wine that can complement any BIG curry.  Fairly pricy – but spoil yourself!