Gongura Chicken – Chicken with Red Lined Sorrel Leaves
Gongura or red-lined sorrel leaves are popular in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. A great way of using them is by making Gongura Chicken.The tangy vibrant leaves impart a unique flavor to chicken. Andhra cuisine is bold and spicy. Working well with these flavorful leaves. Sorrel or Gongura has a gentle tang, which imparts a distinct flavor to this dish. And, then I love to mesh a little bit of chard or red amaranth just for color. I know, I know, but I will do anything for visual effect. This dish is great when meshed with something like this lemon rice.
Our first encounter with these fragrant and slightly tangy leaves were from the Indian supermarket chain Patel Brothers. I like to visit the stores every several months, to stock up on essentials. It is so much fun to pick up unusual Indian produce. More than often, usually something spontaneous along with the staples. The object of today’s affection are these colorful sorrel leaves or gonura. The tangy flavor responds well to the bold spicing that I have used to cook this chicken dish.
This dish can be made with regular green sorrel as well. I just need to remember to do it next time they are in season. Just a note, if you are getting your gongura or red lined sorrel from an Indian store where they are hanging out with several like and un-named companions. It is easy to identify them even in a nameless state.
More about Gongura and the Culinary Context
For the uninitiated, Andhra Pradesh is in Southern India. The state is known for its well-seasoned meat or fish based dishes among other things. The use of gongura or sorrel leaves is often found in the cooking for specialty dishes. These include Gongura Chicken or Gongura Dal or Lentils
Gongura leaves have a distinct lemony scent, and their stems are red. The color of the actual leaves’ ranges from red to just green. I use them in moderation in this dish and depending on how much you want to add, you can add a lot.
As mentioned, I sometimes mesh this dish with chard and or red amaranth leaves. If you cannot find gongura or sorrel leaves, just use chard and add some lemon juice.
Now in winter, I am doing what most people who conserved during summer do – I am reclaiming my refrigerator! Lots of frozen herbs, frozen chopped tomatoes, frozen tomato paste and such. The tomatoes are an interesting story, we probably had beginners luck this year, but Anshul had to do a lot of work to make sure we did not waste this years bounty! So the debate of the year (well, we still have 6 months to resolve this, is whether to plant fewer plants this year!).
This is what I made, a nicely spiced chicken recipe that we enjoyed over saffron rice.
Gongura Chicken – Chicken in Red Lined Sorrel Leaves
A spicy and tangy chicken creation with chicken and red-lined sorrel leaves or gongura leaves.
Ingredients
- 1 pound of chicken, cubed
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 3 to 4 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 4 to 6 curry leaves
- 1 onion, very thinly sliced
- 2 pods garlic, chopped
- 3 pods cardamom
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 cup chopped gongura or sorrell leaves
- 1 cup chopped red chard leaves
- Chopped cilantro leaves to garnish
Instructions
- Rub the chicken with the salt, turmeric and chili powder and set aside.
- Heat the oil and add in the mustard seeds and wait for the seeds to crackle, add in the curry leaves. Add in the onion and cook for about 5-7 minutes, the onions, wilt soften and then turn golden brown.
- Add the chicken, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin and coriander powder and cook stirring occasionally for 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and cook for another 10 minutes, until the chicken is fairly soft.
- Add in the sorrel leaves and chard cover and cook on low for 5 minutes, until the chicken is soft and dry and covered with the leaves.
- Garnish with the cilantro and serve