Chicken meals are go-to meals when you’re looking for something wholesome, healthy and filling. And because chicken is so versatile it’s so easy to adapt to whatever your palate is craving that day. Whether it’s Indian, Chinese, American, Mediterranean, Middle-Eastern, there’s a special place for chicken in all of these cuisines. Curry, grilled, roasted, fried – chicken is comfort food all the way and if you don’t want to follow a specific recipe, you can do a lot with it even with minimal cooking skills. 

Depending on how much time you have and the amount of effort you’d like to put into your meal, you can adapt the recipe. 

For this recipe you’ll need

  • 500 gms of chicken – bone in (preferably curry cut)
  • Broccoli – one small head
  • One medium red onion
  • 4 dark green chillies slit
  • One red capsicum
  • One yellow capsicum
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 4 tablespoons of oil
  • Any thick sauce of your choice – optional

Find a detailed way to wash, prep and store broccoli here. It will change your life! Changed mine! While broccoli isn’t an Indian vegetable at all – it was introduced to India only in the 1990s – it’s easily available now and can be quite affordable when in season. It’s quite versatile too – works beautifully as a soup, in salads, in wraps and in stir fries. 

Red and yellow capsicum can be quite expensive in India, much more expensive than their green counterpart. They’re sweeter and less acidic than the green capsicum, because they are just the ripe version of the green ones!

To make Chicken with stir fried vegetables – 

  • Wash the chicken and drain it. 
  • Marinate with salt and pepper. About a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper is enough. Cover and set aside
  • Chop the onion into cubes and separate the layers. 
  • Chop up the capsicum into one inch pieces
  • Keep the prepped broccoli ready.
  • In a large pan heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Avoid anything that’s strongly flavoured like mustard oil. 
  • Once it heats up (not smoking) add the slit green chillies and the onions.
  • Saute with a wooden spatula for a bit till the onions turn pink. Don’t overcook, you want them to be crunchy but not have the pungent taste of raw onion
  • Add the broccoli florets and saute some more. Again don’t cook them too much or the broccoli will wilt. 
  • Finally add the capsicum and continue stirring on medium heat. Add some salt. 
  • The salt will make the vegetable sweat a bit to keep stirring to ensure the water released doesn’t pool.
  • Lower the flame to the lowest point and spread out the vegetables so they cook evenly. 
  • In another pan take the remaining oil and heat it.
  • Add the chicken piece by piece into the pan and sear nicely from all sides. 
  • Don’t overcrowd the pan. 
  • At this point check on the veggies. Taste a piece for doneness and crunchiness. Switch off if it’s the desired stage. 
  • Keep the flame on medium so the chicken gets a lovely brown char. 
  • Keep flipping the pieces so they don’t cook unevenly. 
  • Once the chicken is nicely browned, reduce the flame and add a sauce if using.
  • I used one large tablespoon ofThe Gourmet Jar’s Fiery, Sundried, Tomato With Naga Chilli
  • Using your wooden spatula, spread the thick sauce nicely among all the pieces. 
  • Coat each chicken piece with the sauce by stirring and flipping.
  • Add two-three tablespoons of water to the chicken and cover the pan. Keep the flame on low. 
  • Don’t leave the pan unattended because it might burn.
  • If you’re not using a sauce or paste, add more pepper powder to the chicken and chopped up coriander leaves for some bright flavouring. 
  • Check for doneness and switch off the chicken. Cook off any water that remains, by increasing the flame and brisk stirring. 
  • And Done!