Sylheti Chicken Shatkora Curry
A regional Bangladeshi chicken curry with potatoes, warm spices and shatkora, a fragrant citrus fruit that gives the savoury onion gravy its characteristic sour and gently bitter flavour.
Ingredients
- 800 g bone-in skinless chicken thighs or drumsticks
- 150 g fresh or frozen shatkora wedges
- 60 ml rapeseed or sunflower oil
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 cm cassia bark or cinnamon stick
- 1 black cardamom pod lightly crushed
- 4 green cardamom pods lightly crushed
- 4 cloves
- 2 dried red chillies
- 300 g onions thinly sliced
- 2 green finger chillies slit lengthways
- 30 g Garlic and Ginger Paste
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder
- ¼ teaspoon hot chilli powder optional
- 200 g ripe tomatoes finely chopped
- 350 g potatoes peeled and cut into 4cm chunks
- 1½ teaspoons fine salt
- 450 ml freshly boiled water divided into 50ml for the spices and 400ml for simmering
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 15 g fresh coriander finely chopped
Instructions
- Pat the chicken dry. Thaw frozen shatkora, rinse it, remove any seeds and cut the wedges into 2 to 3cm pieces. Prepare the potatoes in even 4cm chunks.
- Heat the oil in a wide, heavy based pan over a medium heat. Fry the bay leaves, cassia, black and green cardamom, cloves and dried red chillies for about 45 seconds, until aromatic.
- Add the onions and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring regularly, until evenly golden. Add the green chillies and Garlic and Ginger Paste, then cook for 1 minute.
- Reduce the heat to medium low. Add the coriander, cumin, turmeric, Kashmiri chilli powder and optional hot chilli powder. Pour in the measured 50ml hot water and stir for 2 minutes, until it has mostly evaporated and oil appears around the masala.
- Add the chicken and salt. Cook over medium high heat for 8 minutes, turning the pieces until opaque and thoroughly coated with the masala.
- Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, pressing them until soft. Stir in the prepared shatkora and potatoes and coat them carefully in the masala.
- Pour in the measured 400ml hot water and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook over a low heat for 30 minutes, stirring carefully once or twice, until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is thoroughly cooked to at least 75°C in the thickest part away from the bone.
- Uncover and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes, until the gravy reaches your preferred consistency. Stir in the garam masala and coriander, cover and rest off the heat for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- For a gentler introduction to shatkora, reduce it to 100g. Keep the other quantities unchanged.
- If using 700g boneless chicken thighs, begin checking the chicken after 20 minutes in Step 7.
- Frozen shatkora can be used directly after thawing, rinsing and removing any seeds.
- Pomelo or grapefruit can be used in the same quantity when shatkora is unavailable, but the curry will have a different citrus aroma.
- Whole cardamom pods, cloves and cassia are not intended to be eaten. Remove them while serving when convenient.
Nutrition
Calories: 530kcalCarbohydrates: 33gProtein: 36gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 12gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 104mgSodium: 987mgPotassium: 1362mgFiber: 7gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 1312IUVitamin C: 96mgCalcium: 111mgIron: 4mg
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