Indian Coq au Vin

STEP 1: MARINATE THE CHICKEN IN THE WINE

Season the chicken generously with the salt and pepper. Put it in a non-reactive bowl or zip bag with the red wine, cinnamon stick, cardamom, whole cloves and bay leaves, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight. This is the classical coq au vin step and the one a sixty-minute clock makes impossible; it is the single largest advantage the home version has. Drain the chicken, reserving the wine and the whole spices, and pat every piece bone dry. Wet skin will not brown.

STEP 2: RENDER THE LARDONS AND BROWN THE CHICKEN

If using bacon or pancetta, put it in a cold wide casserole over medium heat and render until crisp, 8-10 minutes. Lift out with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the fat behind. Add 1 tbsp of the ghee, raise the heat to medium-high, and brown the chicken in batches, skin side down first, 5-6 minutes a side, until deeply coloured. Do not crowd the pan. Set the chicken aside.

STEP 3: BROWN THE GARNISH

Add another tablespoon of ghee. Brown the pearl onions all over, about 5 minutes, and remove. Add the mushrooms, leave them alone until they have taken colour on one side, then toss and cook until browned, about 6 minutes, and remove. Keeping these out of the braise until the end is what stops them going grey and collapsing, and it is the same logic in both traditions.

STEP 4: BUILD THE MASALA BASE

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the last tablespoon of ghee and the cumin seeds and let them crackle, about 20 seconds. Add the reserved whole spices from the marinade and the chopped yellow onion with a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring, until the onion is soft and properly golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Do not rush this; an undercooked onion base is the most common reason an Indian braise tastes thin. Add the ginger-garlic paste and cook until the raw smell goes, 2 minutes. Add the Kashmiri chilli powder, ground coriander, turmeric and 1 tsp of the garam masala, and stir for 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and cook it out until it darkens and starts to catch, 2-3 minutes.

STEP 5: DEGLAZE AND BRAISE

Pour in the reserved wine and scrape the base of the pan clean. Bring to a boil and let it reduce by about a third, 8-10 minutes; this drives off the raw alcohol that would otherwise sit on top of the spice. Add the stock. Return the chicken and any resting juices, plus the lardons. The liquid should come about two-thirds of the way up the chicken. Bring to a bare simmer, cover, and cook over low heat or in a 325F (165C) oven for 50-60 minutes, until the meat pulls easily from the bone but has not fallen off it.

STEP 6: MAKE THE TOMATO CURRY WHILE IT BRAISES

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high. Add the black mustard seeds and wait for them to pop. Add the curry leaves and dried chillies, standing back because the leaves will spit, then the shallots, and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger-garlic paste and turmeric, cook 1 minute, then add the tomatoes and a good pinch of salt. Cook down over medium heat for 15-20 minutes until the mixture darkens, thickens and the oil begins to separate at the edges. Stir in the tamarind paste and jaggery. It should taste sharp, savoury and faintly sweet, and good enough to eat on its own.

STEP 7: MAKE THE SAFFRON POMME PUREE

Boil the potatoes whole and unpeeled in well-salted water until a knife slides through with no resistance, 30-40 minutes depending on size. Meanwhile, warm the cream and milk together, crumble in the saffron threads, and leave to infuse off the heat for at least 15 minutes; it should turn deep orange. Drain the potatoes, and as soon as you can handle them, peel and pass them through a ricer or food mill into a warm pan. Over low heat, beat in the cold butter a cube at a time until fully absorbed, then beat in the warm saffron cream in a thin stream. Season. For a true restaurant puree, push the finished puree through a fine sieve with a rubber spatula. Keep warm, covered, with a piece of buttered parchment on the surface.

STEP 8: MAKE THE CILANTRO OIL

Blanch the cilantro, and the parsley if using, in boiling water for 15 seconds, then plunge straight into ice water. Squeeze bone dry, genuinely dry, twisted in a tea towel. Blend with the oil and salt on high for 60-90 seconds until the oil is warm and vividly green. Pour into a sieve lined with muslin or a coffee filter set over a bowl and let it drip through without pressing, 30 minutes or more. Pressing forces solids through and clouds it. Store in a squeeze bottle.

STEP 9: FINISH THE BRAISE

Lift the chicken out and keep it warm. Skim the fat from the surface of the sauce. Bring to a brisk simmer and reduce until it coats a spoon. Mash the flour and softened butter to a smooth paste and whisk it in a little at a time until the sauce is glossy and just thick enough; you may not need all of it. Return the pearl onions and mushrooms and warm through for 5 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the remaining 1 tsp garam masala and the lemon juice, starting with one tablespoon and tasting. This is the acid Joe Bastianich singled out: add until the sauce lifts and tastes brighter, then stop. Return the chicken to the pan and turn it in the sauce.

STEP 10: PLATE

Spoon a generous bed of saffron puree slightly off centre and drag the back of the spoon through it. Set the chicken on top with a share of the onions, mushrooms and lardons. Spoon the sauce over. Add the tomato curry alongside as a distinct pool rather than mixing it in; it is meant to read as a separate voice. Finish with drops of cilantro oil across the sauce and puree. The praise at the pass was for a plate that looked like home food, generously and confidently served, so resist the urge to tweeze.