Title: Chittarnee (Sweet-And-Sour Chicken in Onion Sauce)
Categories: None
Yield: 6 Servings

2 lb Onions; grated or finely
-chopped
4 tb Peanut or vegetable oil
2 Or 3 garlic cloves; crushed
A 1-inch piece of fresh
-ginger; crushed in a garlic
-press, or 1 1/2 , Juice of
ts Grated fresh ginger
1 ts Turmeric
1 ts Ground cinnamon
1 1/2 ts Ground coriander
3/4 ts Ground cardamom
1 Good pinch of cayenne or red
-chili powder; or to taste,
-(optional)
2 Bay leaves
6 Boneless and skinless
-chicken breasts; (app. 1
-3/4 lb.), cut into smaller
-pieces
Salt; (optional)
1 lb Tomatoes; peeled and
-chopped, or a 14-oz can of
-chopped tomatoes
2 tb Wine vinegar; (up to 3)
2 ts Sugar or to taste

Total Preparation time: 1 1/2 hour

This unusual dish has Indian spices but is "mild spicy", not "hot spicy" --
no hot peppers required but lots of flavors. For those who are interested,
it comes from the Jewish-Indian community in Baghdad. Claudia Roden
describes the history of the Jewish communities in India, Iran, etc., in
her fascinating book "The Book of Jewish Food" from which this is taken.

Put onions in a large pan with the oil and cook very gently with the lid
on, stirring occasionally, until they are very soft and golden. Because
there is so much onion, this can take up to 1/2 hour. add the garlic,
ginger, spices and bay leaves and stir for 5 minutes. Put in the chicken
pieces, season with salt (optional), and saute for 10 minutes, turning them
over once. Now add the tomatoes and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or
until "all the excess liquid has dried out and the gravy glistens with the
oil" (well--30 minutes seemed fine). Finally, stir in the vinegar and sugar
and cook 10 minutes more. Serve hot with rice.

(Full disclosure: when I made this most recently, I doubled the recipe, but
used only 1 1/2 times the amount of chicken, so I had more sauce per
chicken than this calls for -- it was great. Serving suggestion: Various
commercial chutneys -- peach chutney, mint chutney, etc. -- go well with
this.)

Posted to TNT Recipes Digest by "Lisa Salkovitz Kohn" on
Mar 6, 1998