Recipe: Farmers Market Chicken with Fresh Peaches

Every Thursday on the Good Food Blog we share a recipe from our archives.

Neelam Batra is the James Beard Award winning author of 1,000 Indian Recipes. She first shared this recipe for Farmers Market Chicken with Fresh Peaches on August 8, 2009.

Keep reading for the full recipe…

Serves 4 to 6

One 3 to 3 1/2 pounds chicken

4 to 6 fresh tree ripe peaches

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion

3 large cloves fresh garlic, peeled and minced

2 Tablespoons peeled and minced fresh ginger

1 to 3 serrano peppers, minced (optional)

1 Tablespoon ground coriander

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt, or to taste

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper, or to taste (plus more for garnish)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 cup lightly packed, finely chopped cilantro, with stems

Remove the skin from the chicken and cut it into bite (or serving) size pieces. Cut the peaches with their skin into small pieces and puree in a food processor. (You should have about 2 cups of puree).

Heat the oil in a large wok or saucepan over medium-high heat and add the cumin seeds (they should sizzle upon contact with the hot oil). Quickly, before they start to burn, add the onion and cook stirring until it turns medium brown 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and serrano peppers (if using) and continue to cook for another 1 minute. Mix in the coriander, cumin, salt, and pepper and then add the chicken pieces and stir them until golden, 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the pureed peaches and bring to a boil over high heat. Then cover the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, first on medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes and then on low heat until the chicken becomes tender and most of the peach juices dry up, 20 to 30 minutes.

Uncover the pan add the lemon juice and cilantro, increase the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally until all the remaining juices dry up and the sauce clings to the chicken pieces, 5 to 7 minutes.

Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with pepper and serve.