Categories: Poultry, Indian 
      Yield: 6 servings 
  
      3 lb Chicken, skinned 
      4    Thai chile, whole dried 
           Cinnamon stick, 2" 
  1 1/2 ts Cumin, whole 
      2 ts Ginger, fresh 
      1 ts Garlic; finely crushed 
     15    Apricots, dried; pitted 
      6 tb Oil 
      2 lg Onion 
      2 tb Tomato paste 
      1 c  ;Water 
  1 1/4 ts Salt 
      2 tb White malt vinegar 
  1 1/2 tb Sugar 
 
-------------------------------POTATO STRAWS------------------------------- 
           Oil; for deep frying 
      1 lg Potato, red; peeled 
      1 tb Salt 
  
  Peel and cut the onions in half lengthwise, then cut them crosswise into 
  very fine half-rings.  Mix tomato paste and water.  Break up cinnamon stick 
  somewhat.  Peel ginger and grate finely. 
   
  Cut the chicken into serving pieces.  I say if you do it right, you get 11 
  pieces:  two wings, two drumsticks, two thighs, a back, two breast halves, 
  the  pulleybone, and the giblets.  This means cut it up yourself, rather 
  than leave it to some idiot with a meat saw at the supermarket. 
   
  Put the chiles, cinnamon, cumin seeds, cardamom pods and cloves into a 
  spice grinder or coffee grinder and grind as fine as possible.  If you 
  don't have a spice grinder, use a mortar and pestle and be prepared to take 
  forever getting the spices to the proper degree of powder. Put the chicken 
  in a large bowl, and add 1 t. of the ginger, 1/2 t. of the garlic, and half 
  the ground spices. Mix well with your hands, rubbing the seasonings into 
  the chicken. Set aside for 1 hour. 
   
  Put the apricots in a small pan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Turn 
  the heat down and simmer, uncovered, until the apricots are tender but not 
  mushy.  When the apricots are tender, turn off the heat and let the sit in 
  their own juice. 
   
  When the chicken is through marinating, heat the 6 T. of oil in a wok or 
  very large, heavy skillet.  When hot, put in the onions.  Stir and fry 
  until they turn a rich, reddish-brown color.  Turn the heat down to medium 
  and add the rest of the ginger and garlic.  Stir once or twice, and add the 
  remaining ground spices.  Stir once or twice and put in all the chicken. 
  Stir and brown the chicken lightly for 5 minutes. Now put in the tomato 
  paste liquid and the salt.  Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, 
  and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Add the vinegar and sugar. Stir to mix. 
  Cover again and simmer for another 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, and skim 
  off as much of the fat as possible. 
   
  Put the apricots into the pan with the chicken.  If the apricots were only 
  sitting in about 2 or 3 tablespoons of liquid, put that in the pan. If 
  there is more liquid than that, discard the extra.  Gently slip the 
  apricots in between the chicken pieces and let them soak in the sauce for 
  at least 3 minutes. 
   
  Make the potato straws:  fill a large bowl with about 2 quarts of water. 
  Add the salt and mix. Grate the potato as coarsely as possible. Put the 
  potato into the bowl of water. Stir the potatoes around with your hand. Now 
  remove the potatoes from the water, a handful at a time, squeezing out as 
  much water as possible. Spread the potatoes on a dish towel. Pat with paper 
  towels to dry off as much moisture as possible. 
   
  Pour vegetable oil into a wok or cast-iron frying pan to a depth of 2 
  inches.  Heat over a low heat, and let the oil heat slowly.   Don't try to 
  force it. When it is hot--this may be 10 minutes or so--put in a smallish 
  handful of the uncooked potato straws, which will begin to bubble. When 
  they stop bubbling, stir them until they are crisp and a pale gold color. 
  Remove with a wire spoon or slotted spoon and leave to drain on a plate 
  lined with paper towels. Continue and repeat until all the potato is used. 
  When ready to eat, put the chicken in a warmed serving dish and garnish 
  with the potato straws. 
   
                                       -- The Taste of India 
                                          Madhur Jaffrey