Drawing Near to God (Recipe: Malai Chicken Curry)

The Bible is very clear and specific in its instructions on how to develop our relationship with God. It clearly outlines what we need to do, why and how so that we can abide in God’s word and follow his will. Many times we wonder why we struggle with our relationship with God, why we feel so distant from him when compared to the bond he has with others. The Bible says in

James 4:8: Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

So according to his word, if you try to seek out God, to get closer to Him, then He will come closer to you and find you. Most of the time, we don’t know how we can move closer to God, we wonder what we can do to bridge this gap. However, when we look into the different accounts given in God’s word about the people who were trying to get closer to him, we see that they were not following any standard instruction or process, they were simply following their hearts and doing what they thought would help them get closer to God.

One example of this is Cornelius. We see in Acts 10: 3-5: About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, "Cornelius." And he stared at him in terror and said, "What is it, Lord?" And he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 5And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter.

Here we find an angel is sent by God to Cornelius because of his prayers and his alms. This was how Cornelius tried to get closer to God. Cornelius did not know how else to approach or seek God, he just sincerely did what he thought would help, he prayed and gave to the poor. And so God sent an angel to Cornelius, asking him to find Simon Peter, who would be able to instruct Cornelius in the right way.

Similarly, we find an Ethiopian Eunuch who also was seeking to get closer to God. He traveled all the way from his country to Jerusalem to worship, and he was intently reading what was written by the prophet Isaiah in his attempt to understand or find a way to get closer to God, but he did not understand the book. We see this in

Acts 8: 26-31: Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over and join this chariot." So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

Again, we see God sends his servant Philip to this eunuch to show him the right way.

It is quite clear from these two accounts that when we sincerely seek to get closer to God, and we do whatever we can to draw near to God, even if it is simply by our own understanding, then God will make a way for us to find him. He may send a Philip or a Peter to show you the truth and so, we must always be open to obeying and receiving children of God who come with his message. They may quite likely be sent in answer to your prayers.

Let us pray and ask the Lord to help us discern the times when he is sending to us his servants with his message, to help us draw nearer to him.



Today’s recipe is a chicken curry that is perfect for special occasions or when you are throwing a dinner party.


Ingredients:

Whole chicken, cleaned and pieced – 1 kg
Sliced Onion – 2
Sliced Tomato – 2
Bay leaves - 2
Ginger-garlic paste – 2 teaspoons
Tomato Paste – 2 Tablespoons
Chilly powder – 1 ¼ teaspoon
Turmeric powder – ¾ teaspoon
Coriander powder – 1 ½ teaspoon
Cumin powder – 1 teaspoon
Garam masala powder – 1 teaspoon
Salt- as required
Chicken stock – 1 cup
Full cream – 70gms
Chopped Coriander leaves – 4 tablespoons
Ghee – 5 tablespoons
Oil for frying – as required

Instructions:

1.Marinate the chicken pieces in ¼ teaspoon chilly powder, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder and the required amount of salt. Keep for 20 minutes.

2.Fry the marinated chicken pieces in oil and keep aside. Do not fry to crisp.

3.In a cooking pot, heat 4 tablespoons of ghee, to this add the bay leaves, sauté, then add the ginger garlic paste. Stir till the raw smell subsides.

4.Now add the sliced onions and fry well till deep golden brown. Turn off the flame and add the remaining chilly powder and turmeric powder. Along with coriander powder and cumin powder. Stir well and turn the flame back on.

5.Now add the tomatoes and stir occasionally till tomatoes are cooked and mashed. Then add the tomato paste and stir well. To this add the fried chicken pieces and mix well.

6.Pour in the chicken stock into this and allow it to cook for 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally.

7.Now turn off the flame, add cream and stir well till all the cream has blended into the curry. Check for salt, and add as required.

8.In a Kadai, heat one tablespoon of ghee and turn off the flame, to this add one teaspoon of garam masala powder and sauté. Pour this into the curry and stir well. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with roti or rice.