Braised Chicken in Tomato Sauce with Onion — Easy Drumstick Recipe
Cheap and easy to find, chicken has long been an everyday staple. It cooks quickly and simply and needs no special tricks, whichever way you prepare it.
White meat makes an easy chicken schnitzel or breaded chicken. Wings turn into a superb snack — fried or baked wings. Leg quarters or drumsticks are perfect for such a wonderful dish as chicken in tomato sauce or chicken with potatoes.
In the East and in the Balkans there is a whole family of dishes that go by the name of yahnia. It most likely arrived there with the migration of peoples from Asia. As a rule, these are stews of meat and vegetables.
Yahnia can be made with a single vegetable or a mix of vegetables, and with any meat, fish or poultry. It can range from fiery hot to almost sweet. The principle of yahnia is to fry the vegetables and meat and then braise them.
Strictly speaking, yahnia is usually cooked in a cauldron or a pot, with the ingredients laid in layers. But in a city kitchen it is quite easy to make something close to yahnia that is just as tasty. Chicken in tomato sauce is a case in point. It is simple and fairly quick: the chicken and onion are first fried with spices, then everything is braised together in a sauté pan with tomatoes.
Ingredients
2 servings
- Chicken drumsticks 4
- Onions, large 3
- Tomato pulp 200 g
- Garlic 1-2 cloves
- Vegetable oil 50 ml
- Flour 3 tbsp
- Salt, sugar, ground black pepper, dried herbs, dried chili pods Spices:
Step-by-step recipe
- Chicken in tomato sauce can be made not only with drumsticks but with almost any part of the chicken that has dark meat. Thighs, wings or even a whole chicken cut into pieces all work well. White meat, though — the breast fillet — turns out a little dry, so it is better not to use it here and to save it for a chicken schnitzel instead.
- It is better not to use the drumsticks whole, but to cut or chop off the bone end with the joint. There is little to eat on that part of the drumstick anyway. It is also worth skinning the drumsticks, though that is optional.
- Put the prepared drumsticks in a small deep bowl. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with 1-2 pinches of dried herbs: basil, oregano, parsley, savory. A Mediterranean dried herb blend works well too. Toss the chicken pieces so the spices are spread evenly. Leave the chicken with the spices for 10-15 mins to let the salt dissolve.
- Peel the onions and cut them into thick strips. Put the sliced onion in a bowl and set it aside for now.
- Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan or sauté pan. Dredge the seasoned drumsticks generously in flour and place them in the hot oil.
- Fry the drumsticks until golden brown on all sides. This takes 6-7 minutes, no longer, as flour tends to darken quickly.
- Add the sliced onion to the fried chicken and fry over medium heat, stirring, until the onion is soft and golden. If you like, add a few dried hot chili pods along with the onion and finely grate in 1-2 garlic cloves.
- Blend half a can of canned tomato pulp (about 200 g) with 1 tsp sugar and a pinch of salt. Pour the tomato purée over the chicken and onion. Add a little water from the kettle — half a cup at most — so the chicken is half covered with liquid. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
- Braise the chicken in tomato sauce, covered, over medium heat for about 15 minutes. That is enough for the chicken and onion to cook through and turn tender.
- Then remove the lid and let the excess liquid evaporate. The chicken should end up in a slightly thick sauce.
- That said, you can sometimes leave the tomato sauce fairly thin, and the chicken in tomato sauce becomes something like a thick soup with a superb taste and aroma.
| Yield: | 2 servings |
| Calories: | 180 |
| Prep: | 20 mins |
| Cooking: | 30 mins |
| Ready in: | 50 mins |
| Category: | Main Dishes |
| Cuisine: | European |
| Rating: |
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4.4
(5)
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