Chicken Do Piaza and an Indian Feast

As I mentioned in October, the eight of us who meet every month or so to cook our way through the cuisines of the world were about to become six. Luckily, the two who were leaving us delayed their departure date until late November, so we managed to squeeze in one more dinner before waving goodbye.

Our World Food Evenings began as a casual intention to get together once a month for an Indian curry night and evolved into cooking all-out, authentic feasts from around the globe: Mexico, Turkey, Cuba, Brazil, Italy, Spain, Morocco, Thailand, Indonesia, South Africa and even an American Barbecue.

We decided to come full circle for our dinner in November and cooked up another Indian themed meal. And cook we did!

onion bhajis, vegetable pakoras, naan bread, prawn curry, chicken do piaza, saag aloo, masoor dal and rice
What a meal!


naan, ready to be baked


dishing it up


close-up of chicken do piaza


a full plate


This rich chicken dish was our contribution to the meal. If you're an onion lover like me, you will love it!

Chicken Do Piazza

6 tablespoons oil
2 pounds onions
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 big cloves garlic, finely minced
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
4 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves, crumbled
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves

Finely slice 2 onions and roughly cut up the rest of the onions.
Mix the chili powder, ground coriander, turmeric and salt together, add the chicken and mix well.
Warm 3 tablespoons of oil in a heavy pan over medium heat.
Spread half of the cut up onions on the bottom of the pan, add the chicken pieces and layer the rest of the cut onions on top of the chicken.
Cover with a tight fitting lid and cook until the onions are have been reduced and become mushy, and the chicken is tender, about 20-25 minutes.
Meanwhile, in another pan that will be large enough to hold everything later, heat up the rest of the oil over medium heat.
Add the sliced onions, ginger and garlic and cook, stirring often, for 10-15 minutes, until the onions become a pale golden color.
Mix in the bay leaves and cook for another minute, stirring frequently.
Add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are reduced to a pulp. This will take several minutes.
Add the chicken and onion mixture to the pan and, stirring frequently, cook until everything is well browned and a thick onion sauce has formed.
Just before serving, add the lemon juice, give it a good stir, and sprinkle with chopped cilantro leaves.