By Chetna Makan
chetnamakan.co.uk

When it comes to cooking I believe in making things that don’t need me to spend hours in the kitchen but taste delicious and outstanding. This is when you have simple and easy recipes to make it quick and have the right spices to make it delicious.

There are lots of spices and herbs that I use in my day to day cooking and one of those is ‘Black Pepper’. It is one of the most used spices in the world and this is true for my kitchen too. Indian cuisine uses a lot of black pepper whether it is in curries or chaat, which is a popular street food or in salads and raitas.

I have teamed up with Schwartz whose pepper range is amazing and varied. I have chosen the black pepper and white pepper to develop the most incredible ‘Black pepper chicken curry & white pepper and mint raita’.

The black pepper adds an intense heat and bite to the abundance of red onions in this curry. It is heavily aromatic and beautifully balances the creaminess of the coconut milk. The most important is the dry roasting of the spices in the beginning, which is enhanced by the heat and brings the flavours out.

Pepper is such a versatile spice and can be added in all sorts of recipes with or without any other spices and could still be the star of the dish. It has got the heat and aroma all in one and the following recipes are a perfect example of it.

Delicious black pepper chicken curry

For the marinade

8 chicken thighs with bones
½ tsp Schwartz ground black pepper
½ tsp salt
½ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
Juice of ½ lemon

For the curry

1 tbsp Schwartz coarse black pepper
1 tsp Schwartz fennel seeds
1 tsp Schwartz coriander seeds
3 tbsp sunflower oil
6 red onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 cm ginger, grated
½ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp garam masala
250 ml coconut milk
A handful of fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped

For the raita

200g natural yogurt
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp Schwartz ground white pepper
A handful of fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

Place the chicken pieces in a bowl, add all the marinade ingredients and mix well. Cover and leave aside for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile start with the curry. Heat a pan and dry roast the black pepper, fennel and coriander seeds for 2 minutes on low heat. Now grind them in a pestle and mortar.

Heat the same pan and add the oil. Once hot add the onions and cook on medium heat for 10-12 minutes until golden. Add the ginger, garlic and cook for another minute.

To this, add the marinated chicken and cook for 2 minutes on high heat until the chicken gets a bit of colour.

Now, add the ground spices to this with the turmeric, salt, chilli and garam masala. Mix it all well and then add the coconut milk. Mix well, cover and cook for 25-30 minutes until chicken is cooked.

Sprinkle some fresh coriander on top and put it in a serving bowl.

In another bowl mix all the raita ingredients, serve with the chicken and some steaming hot rice.