Cilantro Chicken

Did you ever buy cilantro for guacamole or corn salad and then have 3/4 of the bunch left over? Well, never again shall that cilantro go to waste! This is my go to recipe for excess cilantro. While it does require a food processor or a blender, it's very simple and a great way to get some green into your diet. According to Livestrong.com, 9 sprigs of cilantro can apparently give you a significant part of your daily Vitamin A, for healthy eyes, and Vit K, for proper blood clotting.  Here's what you need:

2 pounds of chicken

1 small bunch cilantro

1 medium yellow onion

2 jalapeno peppers (+/- for more or less spicy)

5 cloves of garlic

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp group coriander

Salt to taste

1. Peel the onion and cut into quarters. Dice one quarter and put aside. Coarsely chop remainder and place into blender. 

2. Wash cilantro carefully and remove about 2-3 inches of the stem from the bottom.  Peel garlic. Remove stems from the jalapenos peppers. Coarsely chop all three and place into blender.

Ingredients for the gravy

3. Blend onion, cilantro, garlic and jalapenos together until smooth. Add a little bit of water if necessary.  You should get about 1-2 cups of mixture.

Blended gravy ingredients

3. Remove the skin from chicken and remove excess fat. I like to use bone in chicken thighs. These take a little longer to cook, but the flavor from the bones really give it a little extra flavor.

4 Chicken thighs average out to about 2 pounds

4. Warm the oil in a small pot on medium heat. You want to use a container that can let you at least partially submerge the chicken. Add the diced onion quarter and stir fry until translucent. About 2 min. Add the spices and a small amount of salt to the onion and stir fry for 20 seconds. Add the chicken and stir fry until chicken is browned on all sides, about 5-7 min.

Browned Chicken

5. Add in the cilantro mixture. Stir, cover and cook on medium heat until the chicken is cooked through, about 15-20 min. When you uncover the pot after this time, there may be a lot of water that was release from the cilantro and/or the chicken. Boil uncovered, until the gravy reaches a consistency you like. Add salt to taste.

6. Remove from heat. Garnish with fresh onion and serve over hot basmati rice.

Bon Appetit!

Notes: The relative amounts of the ingredients are all subjective. It's rarely the case that this recipe turns out tasting the same two times in a row. If you want a stronger cilantro flavor, just add more, a little ghee always lends a hint of luxury and I also like to add mushrooms sometimes, about 5 mins after the chicken for texture.