Oven Ki Murghi (Chicken Breasts Baked With Green Chillies) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

For the sauce
2 tablespoons tomato puree (paste)
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup cream
For the curry
4 (5 ounce) boneless skinless chicken breasts (weighing approx 1 lb 4oz in total)
salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 inches piece cinnamon sticks
6 cardamom pods, cracked open
6 cloves
1 medium onion, cut into fine half-rings
1 inch piece fresh gingerroot, peeled and cut into fine slices, then into fine strips
1 -3 hot green chili pepper, cut at a diagonal into fine strips (I use three but I do remove the seeds)
1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds or 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/.
Put the tomato puree/paste in a bowl and mix with one tablespoon of water.
Add all the remaining sauce ingredients, in the listed order, mixing as you go.
Spread out the chicken breasts and season them generously on both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Put three tablespoons of the oil in a non-stick frying pan and place over a high heat.
When hot, add the cinnamon, cracked cardamom pods and cloves.
After ten seconds, add the chicken breasts in a single layer and brown them lightly on both sides.
Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a single layer in an ovenproof dish.
Add the onions, ginger and green chillies to the same frying pan and fry them in the residual oil until they are golden-brown in colour.
Remove with a slotted spoon and spread evenly over the chicken breasts.
Add the remaining one tablespoon of oil to the frying pan, when hot add the mustard seeds.
As soon as they pop - this will be just a few seconds - add the garlic and stir.
When the garlic starts to brown, pour in the sauce.
As soon as the sauce heats up and starts bubbling, pour it over and around the chicken without displacing the onion mixture.
Place the ovenproof dish, uncovered, in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.