Chicken Jalfrezi (Indian-Chinese)

This Chicken Jalfrezi dish may sound Indian if you only look at the name and the way it's prepared, but it is disputed between the Chinese and Indian cuisines, being, in fact, a fusion of both of them. 
It's very well-known around the world, apparently being the most popular dish in British Indian restaurants, and its heat is cooled down by a generous helping of cream or yogurt and fresh herbs (usually coriander).
We had it with gram flour chapatis (chickpea flour flat-breads). It's best if you can serve this with an ethnic bread as well, but it's delicious without it too.
Recipe source: mainly BBC. 

Last year: Beef and bamboo shot soup (Filipino).
Two years ago: Crispy chili beef with broccoli (stir-fry). 
Three years ago: Green tree (cocktail).
Four years ago: Baby making and no cooking :).



Ingredients (serves 4):

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large red onion
• 2 green chilies, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2-3 cm piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon of each: turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, ground cloves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 500 g boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into cubes
• 1 green bell pepper
• 5 medium tomatoes (650 g total)
• 100 ml water
• a small bunch of coriander leaves (cilantro) 
• a few tablespoons of yogurt (plus extra to serve)
• plain rice or chapatis to serve (optional)

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the peeled, halved and sliced onion together with a good pinch of salt:

Let the onion slowly soften for 6-8 minutes. After that add the minced garlic, chilies and ginger:

Cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the spice mix (1 teaspoon of turmeric and 1 of cumin and 1 of cinnamon and 1 of coriander and 1 of dried and ground cloves).

Mix and let it cook for 2 more minutes until fragrant. Add the chicken, cut into cubes, in the middle of the pan, pushing the veggies to the outer margins:

Increase the heat and let the chicken fry on all sides, turning, until it doesn't look raw anymore (5 minutes). After that, add the chopped tomatoes and bell peppers and the water:

Mix well and cover the pan. Let it cook for 30 minutes until the chicken is tender. Uncover the pan and cook it for 10 more minutes to reduce the sauce. Taste and season with more salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Take it off the heat and add the yogurt and most of the chopped cilantro:

Mix well and it's done. Transfer to serving bowls and top each serving with a little extra yogurt and cilantro. Dig in! :)