Chicken Brinjal Curry

Ingredients:

Chicken	300 gms
Brinjal	5 – 6 nos
Onion	1 small
Curry leaves	few
Oil	2-3 tbsp

Ingredients for Marinating Chicken:

Turmeric powder	1/8 tsp
Red chilli/Coriander powder mix	1 tsp
(Red chilli and coriander powder mix :: 100 : 150 gms)
Clove/Cinnamon powder mix	3 pinch
(Grind equal portion of Clove and Cinnamon mix Store in Air Tight container – 10 : 10 gms)
Garam masala (Ready made)	¼ tsp
Pepper powder	¼ tsp
Fennel powder	¼ tsp
Salt	½ tsp

Ingredients for grinding:

Onions	2 medium
Tomato	1 medium
Ginger-garlic paste	1 tsp
Oil	1 tbsp

Ingredients for final finishing:

Fennel powder	1/4 tsp
Coriander leaves	few chopped

Method:

1. Clean and wash the Chicken pieces. Add all the ingredients mentioned for marinating with little water and coat the Chicken pieces well. Keep aside for half-an-hour.
2. Grinding: Chop the Onions and Tomato into thin slices. Heat a kadai with 1 tbsp of oil. Add sliced onions and saute till light brown. Now add tomato slices and cook till soft. Allow to cool and grind with ginger-garlic paste into a smooth paste using little water. Keep aside.
3. Prepare Curry: Remove stem from the Brinjal and make a deep cross slit on the head portion without cutting the bottom portion. Keep soaked in salt water (add little salt into a bowl of water and keep the Brinjal soaked). Chop Onion into fine pieces. 
4. Remove brinjal from the soaked water. Shake well to remove excess water and keep ready. Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a kadai. Lower the flame and add the Brinjals one by one into the oil and cover with a lid. Cook for 2-3 minutes. In between turn the Brinjals to get evenly fried. Once the colour changed, remove from the oil and keep in a plate (we need only sauted half-cooked brinjal).
5. Add onion pieces to the same oil and fry till golden brown. Lower the flame and add the ground paste carefully. Cook till oil shows on the sides. 
6. Add in marinated Chicken pieces, Curry leaves and saute in high flame for 2 minutes. Then add 1-1/2 cup of water and mix. Raise the flame to come to a boil. Now cover with a lid and cook in low flame for 10-15 minutes. 
7. Now open and add half cooked Brinjal and mix gently. Adjust salt and spice (with pepper powder or red chilli-coriander powder mix). This curry should be in semi-thick consistency. So adjust water according to that. Continue cooking for 2 more minutes.
8. Finally add Fennel powder and chopped Coriander leaves. Mix and switch off flame. Tasty Chicken Brinjal Curry is ready.

Serve with hot rice or roti or pulao.

Suggestion: Can do this curry without vegetable also