Chatpata. That’s a word I didn’t know. Learned it watching Chef’s Table. Gaggan Anand. Four elements in harmony. Sweet, sour, salty and spicy in perfect balance. Indian umami. That describes chicken pathia perfectly. Like textbook perfect. Maybe it should be called chicken chatpata. He’s talking about it at his level. And his level is so far above mine it’s not even worth measuring.The concept is eye opening though. Brings focus. Chatpata. Something to be thinking about. Something to strive for.
Madras’ misunderstood cousin
That’s how I think of chicken pathia. My version anyway. A little like a chicken Madras. But not really. It’s sweet. And it’s sour. A little sugar. A little tamarind sauce. Sort of Madras spicing. That’s it really. Familiar. But different. Somehow that sweet and sour tweak changes everything. Makes pathia it’s own dish. Amazing how a couple extra ingredients can change everything. Chicken pathia is a simple dish. Not a lot of ingredients. No whole spices. No pastes to make. Just a few simple spices. Some hotel gravy. Chicken. Tamarind sauce. It’s almost too simple. Unworthy you might think. Except it’s not. Absolutely not. That’s the beauty of chicken pathia. Simple. Straight forward. And yet complex. Sometimes simple can be amazing. This is one of those times.
Hotel style chicken pathia
This is not takeaway style. Not regular restaurant style. This is about kicking it up a notch. Four notches really. Hotel style. Fine Indian restaurant style. What the really good Indian restaurants are doing. Restaurants putting food quality first. The ones that aren’t trying to make a $12 curry. Going for gold. The kind of restaurant I want to eat at. There are two restaurant based approaches on Glebekitchen. High end and mainstream. Horses for courses. Restaurant style is what they do at most restaurants. Takeaways. Simple. Fast. And tasty. It relies on a single gravy. Restaurant curry base. One size fits all. Hotel style is high end restaurant approach. More disciplined. The right tool for job. Different gravies for different dishes. Blending gravies even. It changes the game. And I’m really excited about it. Think French. Mother sauces. That’s what this is. But applied to Indian cooking. Heavy on the prep. But so worth it. Big tastes. The kind of depth of flavour you can’t get any other way. It’s a bit of curry magic I think. Not Gaggan magic. Not even close. But for us mere mortals…
All that great chicken flavour
The other big difference is how the chicken is prepared. And it is a big difference. Takeaway restaurant style relies on pre-cooked chicken. It’s faster. It’s easier. And it’s probably safer. But it comes at a price. And that price is chicken flavour. Hotel style is a different approach. The chicken goes in raw. You have to pay attention not to overcook it. But you get the juices as it cooks. And those juices are delicious. Losing them was probably my single biggest problem with takeaway restaurant style. I feel better now. Simple things make me happy.
Tamarind sauce is important
This recipe is pretty specific. Tamarind sauce. Not tamarind paste. And definitely not tamarind concentrate. Tamarind sauce is like ketchup. A condiment. Not actually like ketchup. But in a bottle. Pre-fab. Commercial product. Papadum dip in a jar. A little sweet. And sour. A little spicy. And a little salty. See where I’m going? Chatpata in a bottle. I like it. A lot. There’s something about it. Works well in a dhansak. In this dish. On eggs. In sandwiches. I’m not shilling. I don’t take bribes. Don’t do sponsored posts. I just really like Maggi Tamarina. It’s perfect for this dish. It’s like fight club. First rule. Nobody talks about Maggi Tamarina. But there’s probably a bottle in an Indian restaurant kitchen near you. I bet they love it too.
Chicken pathia done hotel style
Ready to expand your horizons? Give this one a go. It’s definitely one you need to try. Chicken pathia isn’t the most famous curry out there. Probably not in the top 10. Or even the top 20. It has lost the popularity contest. And that’s too bad. Because it has it all. Sweet. Sour. Spicy. Salty. Chatpata. You had to know I would finish with that…
