Pudina Dhaniya Chicken

I use pudina and dhaniya (mint and coriander leaves) together only in biryani. I intended to make biryani, but just got lazy and turned the base of the biryani masala into a curry. Obviously, you can tweak it any way you'd like, but don't skimp out on the pudina and dhaniya which makes the dish fresh, and hey..your greens are sorted for the day!

Ingredients for marinade:
1 kilo chicken pieces on the bone
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 tsp red chilli paste/powder
1 tsp turmeric
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt to taste

Marinate for 3-4 hours or overnight.

Ingredients for curry:
1 cup pudina (mint) leaves
1 1/2 cups dhaniya (coriander) leaves
3 green chillies
2 onions pureed
4 cloves garlic
2 dried red chillies
1 inch piece ginger
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1 inch piece cinnamon
3 cloves
1/4 cup grated or small pieces of coconut (optional)
1/4 cup fresh cream
Oil/ghee

Method:
1. Heat a tbsp of oil/ghee and saute pudina, dhaniya, cinnamon, cloves and ginger separately.
2. Grind to paste with garlic, cumin, ginger and coconut. Add water if necessary.
3. Heat some more oil and saute the dried red chillies along with the onion puree.
4. Once onion puree is cooked or has turned light brown in colour, add the pudina and dhaniya paste. Cook for 2 mins.
5. Now add chicken with some salt, and cook for 30 mins or till meat looks like it's coming off the bone.
6. Add cream to finish.

You can garnish with fried onions or even toss some almond flakes in there for some crunch. I served this with rice. You can alternatively serve it with rotis/paranthas.