Imagine a dish so good that it empties an entire city’s spice shelves. That’s exactly what happened in Manchester when Madhur Jaffrey’s Lemony Chicken with Coriander burst into kitchens across the city.
Recipe's charm: Fresh coriander
The recipe’s charm lies in its simplicity: fresh coriander (cilantro), zesty lemon juice, pungent ginger, all transforming the humble chicken into something bright and fragrant.
“The lemon juice gives it a little bit of sourness,” Madhur says. “The green coriander gives a kind of freshness and so does the ginger, and that combination is exceedingly pleasant to eat.”
No ordinary cookbook author
Madhur Jaffrey is no ordinary cookbook author, she’s an acclaimed actress, food writer, and the woman often credited with introducing authentic Indian cooking to the Western home kitchens.
The recipe first appeared in the expanded edition of her best-selling Indian Cooking, published by the BBC in the UK in 1973. It didn’t just make waves, it caused a culinary tidal wave.
Shortly after its release, The Manchester Guardian ran a story saying the city had “run out of fresh spices.” The reason? Everyone was making Lemony Chicken with Coriander.
The food folklore
With Manchester’s coriander shelves stripped bare, the story became a delicious piece of food folklore — proof of how a single dish can capture an entire community’s appetite.
To this day, the recipe remains a beloved go-to: best served, as Madhur recommends, alongside steaming basmati rice with fans’ own iterations published across the internet.
Image Credits:
http://thinklovesleepdine.blogspot.com/2011/08/lemony-chicken-with-fresh-coriander.html.
https://www.food.com/recipe/lemony-chicken-with-fresh-coriander-madhur-jaffrey-481278....
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