This very home-style Indian dish may best be compared to a New Orleans gumbo. It is the okra and tomatoes that give it the gumbo feel, but the seasonings are very North Indian. Serve with rice or with Indian breads.

　　

Ingredients

serves 2¿3

　　1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 1–1 1/2-inch pieces

　　2 teaspoons ground cumin

　　2 teaspoons ground coriander

　　1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

　　1/2–3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

　　Salt

　　1 tablespoon lemon juice

　　3 tablespoons olive or canola oil

　　1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

　　1 medium onion, chopped

　　20 medium-sized okra, about 5 ounces, with tips and tops removed and each okra halved

　　1 medium tomato, peeled and chopped

　　

Step 1

Put the chicken in a nonreactive bowl. Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt, and lemon juice. Stir to mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1–2 hours.

　　

Step 2

Pour the oil into a frying pan, preferably nonstick, and set it over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the cumin seeds, onions, and okra. Stir and fry 6–7 minutes or until the onions have browned a bit. Now put in all the marinated chicken. Stir and fry for 3–4 minutes or until the chicken pieces turn pale. (If some of the spices stick to the pan, do not worry.) Add 1/2 cup water, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and the tomato. Stir to mix and bring to a simmer. Cover, turn heat to low, and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

　　Excerpted from At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka by Madhur Jaffrey. Copyright © 2010 by Random House. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Buy the full book from Amazon.