So the latest chapter of Small Canteen inspired me to make this dish. The recipe was one of the easiest and one of the best testing one. My son loved it and said it should go permanently into our family favorite recipe book.

We had it with rice. And the reason why we loved it so much, because bengali comfort chicken dishes also have potato in them, so it is so much like our regular chicken dish!! Just the spices are different.

BTW, I used chatgpt to make this recipe based on how much chicken I had and other ingredients I had (like no tomato paste/puree). Here is the recipe:

• Chicken (bone-in, cut into pieces): 500g
• Soy sauce: 1 tbsp
• Cooking wine: 1 tbsp
• Salt: ½ tsp
• Ground white pepper: ¼ tsp
• Ginger: 1 tsp, minced
• Garlic: 1 tsp, minced

For the Dish:

• Potatoes: 1 large, peeled and cut into chunks
• Radish (or carrot): 1 medium, sliced into thick pieces
• Bell peppers: 1, sliced
• Garlic: 3-4 cloves, minced
• Ginger: ½-inch piece, sliced
• Green onions: 2, cut into sections
• Dried red chilies: 4-5 (adjust for spice level)
• Sichuan peppercorns: ½ tsp
• Soy sauce (light): 2 tbsp
• Dark soy sauce: ½ tbsp
• Cooking wine: 1 tbsp
• Tomato paste: 1 tbsp
• Sugar: ½ tsp
• Chicken stock or water: 1.5 cups
• Star anise: 1
• Vegetable oil: 2 tbsp
• Salt: to taste
• Fresh cilantro: for garnish

---

Instructions:

1. Marinate the chicken:

• In a bowl, combine the chicken pieces with soy sauce, cooking wine, salt, ground white pepper, minced ginger, and garlic. Mix well and let it marinate for 20-30 minutes.

2. Prepare the wok:

• Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large pan over medium heat. Add the Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and dried red chilies. Stir-fry until fragrant.

3. Cook aromatics:

• Add the minced garlic, sliced ginger, and green onions. Stir-fry for 30 seconds until aromatic.

4. Add marinated chicken:

• Add the marinated chicken to the wok. Stir-fry over medium-high heat until the chicken is browned and partially cooked.

5. Build the sauce:

• Stir in light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, cooking wine, tomato paste, and sugar. Mix until the chicken is coated with the sauce.

6. Simmer with vegetables:

• Add the potato and radish chunks. Pour in the chicken stock or water, ensuring everything is submerged. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is fully cooked.

7. Add bell peppers:

• Stir in the bell pepper slices and cook for another 3-5 minutes until just tender.

8. Taste and adjust seasoning:

• Adjust the seasoning with additional salt or soy sauce, if necessary.

9. Serve:

• Transfer to a large serving dish, garnish with fresh cilantro, and serve with steamed rice or hand-pulled noodles.

Now, I was feeling lazy to cut and mince ginger and garlic, so straightway used readymade paste. I used about 1 teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste in the marinate. Similarly, used another 1-2 teaspoons of ginger-garlic paste when stir-frying the aromatics instead of fresh ginger slices and minced garlic.

I also didn’t have tomato paste, so this is how chatgpt asked me to add fresh tomato.

Steps to Use Fresh Tomatoes:

1. Prepare the tomatoes:
   • Use 1-2 medium-sized fresh tomatoes (roughly equivalent to 2 tablespoons of paste).
   • Peel the tomatoes if you prefer a smoother texture (optional) by blanching them in boiling water for 30 seconds, then transferring them to ice water to loosen the skin.
   • Finely chop or blend the tomatoes into a puree.
2. Add to the dish:
   • After stir-frying the chicken and adding the soy sauce and cooking wine, add the chopped or blended tomatoes.
   • Stir well and cook for 3-5 minutes until the tomatoes break down and form a sauce-like consistency.
3. Adjust seasoning:
   • Fresh tomatoes are less concentrated than paste, so you may want to add a pinch of sugar to balance the acidity and sweetness.

Using fresh tomatoes will give the dish a lighter and slightly fresher flavor, which works beautifully in Dapanji!

I didn’t blanch and peel them, just straight way finely mined them in my chopper.

As for the stock, I used Knorr Aromat powder with this ratio

1.5 teaspoons of bouillon powder dissolved in 1.5 cups of hot water.

So, enjoy the rest of the chapters coming up, and do try making this recipe. It is great.