Indian food often does not look very appealing, but once you taste it you may become hooked, as we are, due to the wonderful buffet at Saffron Restaurant in Greenville, South Carolina.

I recently bought a used copy of "Six Spices" by Neeta Saluja,from abebooks.com. I discovered it while reading reviews on Amazon. The recipe gods must have been with me the day I ordered, because my hardcover copy cost about $13, while a search today yields prices of around $60, new or used!

Be that as it may, this recipe was outstandingly good. I made only half of it because of a limited quantity of chicken thigh meat. I wish I had made the full amount of sauce. We would have liked more of it for the accompanying rice (in this case, jasmine).

Ingredients
2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder (didn't have any so I used 1/8 tsp of Korean crushed red pepper)
3/4 cup water, divided
4 tbsp oil
1 large onion, chopped very fine
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thigts or breasts, cut into 1" pieces
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp brown sugar
4 tbsp crushed peanuts (I used dry roasted)

Method
1. In a small bowl, mix coriander, turmeric, and chili powders with 1/4 cup of the water to make a paste. Set aside.
2. In a nonstick frying pan, heat oil. When oil is hot, add chopped onions and sauté until onions become soft and translucent.
3. Add spice paste. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook, adding a tablespoon of 1/4 cup water at a time. Repeat 2 to 3 times.
4. Add chicken to the above paste; stir well to coat all the pieces with the spices. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Add salt and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Add lemon juice and the remaining 1/4 cup of water.
7. Add brown sugar and peanuts. cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.
8. Transfer it to a serving dish. Serve hot with chapati or boiled rice.