Grilled Chicken Thighs in Curry Sauce

How to prepare grilled chicken thighs in curry sauce

1. Cut the chicken thighs into 4 pieces each. Mix well with the rest of the ingredients, adding 2-3 pinches of salt. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours (at least 2).
2. For the red curry sauce, cut the tomatoes in half and grate them until you're left with just the skin in your hand. Crush the garlic, grate the ginger on a fine grater. Crush the cardamom with the flat of a knife to expose the seeds.
3. In a wide pan (about 30-35cm; this way the sauce will cook faster), heat the oil together with the bay leaves torn in half, cardamom, and cinnamon. Fry the aromatics for 2 minutes, then add the ginger and garlic. Stir quickly and when a pleasant aroma comes from the pan (don't let them burn), add the tomato puree and 2 pinches of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until the sauce reduces to a consistency similar to tomato paste and the oil separates at the edges. At first the sauce will be liquid, then you'll see it becoming thicker, the liquid evaporates, at that point you can reduce heat so it doesn't stick to the bottom and start stirring more frequently. After a while you'll see that the spoon leaves marks on the bottom of the pan and the tomato sauce darkens slightly. When you see the oil separated at the edges of the pan, this step is done.
4. Add the butter, cumin, Garam Masala, chili and simmer together for another 2 minutes after the butter melts. Stir more frequently now so the sauce doesn't burn.
5. Add the cream and stir quickly to combine. Simmer together for 1 more minute. Taste the sauce for salt.
6. The chicken thighs can be grilled while the sauce is simmering or right after you've finished it. I prepared them on the outdoor grill to get a smoky flavor. I heated the grill well, placed them on the grill and then lowered the lid. I turned them after 5 minutes (or until they get nice grill marks) and left them another 3 minutes on the other side (don't let them burn or become too dry). The thighs can also be prepared on a grill pan heated to maximum (about 4-5 minutes/side) until nicely browned.
8. Put the chicken in the tomato sauce, stir to coat evenly and simmer together for 2 minutes.
9. For the pita, I prepared the dough, cut it into 6 equal pieces, shaped them into balls, covered with plastic wrap and let them rest for 15 minutes. I rolled each piece into sheets as thin as I could (about as thin as crepes; the dough is elastic and easy to work with). I cooked them on a cast iron grill pan heated to maximum for 5 minutes and then greased well with fat only at the beginning. The flatbreads cook on the first side until you see many bubbles of different sizes forming on top. Check underneath for nice grill marks and flip for another 30 seconds - 1 minute just to dry out the other side.
   * if the dough doesn't puff up in the pan, either the dough isn't rolled thin enough, or the pan isn't hot enough yet
10. Stack the pitas on top of each other as you cook them and cover with a clean towel at the end. They can be kept like this all day.
11. Serve the chicken pieces with sauce on the grilled pita bread, topped with a salad of thinly sliced new onion mixed with parsley, mint, and a little salt.

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