Ingredients
| 6 tablespoons curry powder, or to taste (I use Babas Curry Powder or make your own, see recipe) | |
| 6 tablespoons water | |
| 1.5kg bone-in chicken pieces | |
| 7 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed | |
| 300g shallots, peeled, roughly chopped | |
| ½ thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled | |
| 5 tablespoons oil (plus 3-4 tablespoons extra to fry curry leaves for garnish) | |
| 1 x 400ml can coconut milk | |
| 1 sprig curry leaves (plus a couple of sprigs for garnish) | |
| 600ml chicken stock | |
| 300g potatoes – peeled and cut into 3-4cm cubes | |
| 1 tablespoon sugar |
This is a favourite and simple curry that my grandmother often cooked for lunch. It is important that you don’t hurry the step of frying the spice paste before adding the chicken pieces. This is essential for developing flavour, improving texture and removing any harsh raw taste of shallots and garlic. The process transforms the individual ingredients into a blended, aromatic base.
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Instructions
| 1. | Mix the curry powder and water into a paste in a small bowl. |
| 2. | Rub half of this curry paste evenly through the chicken pieces and marinate for at least an hour (or overnight). |
| 3. | Blend the garlic, shallots, ginger and the remaining curry paste in a food processor until well mixed and fine. |
| 4. | Heat the oil on a low heat in a heavy-based pan until it is shimmering. |
| 5. | Add the spice paste to the hot oil, turning the heat down if required, and fry for about 15–30 minutes until fragrant and the mixture dries and darkens, stirring constantly to prevent sticking. |
| 6. | Add the marinated chicken pieces to the fried spice paste and turn the heat to medium. |
| 7. | Cook, stirring continually, until the chicken is browned and half cooked, approximately 15–20 minutes. |
| 8. | Add the coconut milk, a sprig of curry leaves and the stock, then simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes. |
| 9. | Add the potatoes and simmer for about 15 minutes, until both the potatoes and chicken are cooked. |
| 10. | Add the sugar and season with salt and pepper to taste. |
| 11. | Strip the curry leaves from the extra sprigs, discarding the stems. |
| 12. | Line a small bowl with kitchen paper and have a slotted spoon ready. |
| 13. | Heat the extra oil in a small frying pan until it shimmers, then add the curry leaves to the hot oil. |
| 14. | There will be crackling sounds as the leaves fry and it will smell amazing. |
| 15. | Scoop the fried leaves into the bowl after just a few seconds while they are still a lovely green. |
| 16. | When ready, garnish the curry with fried curry leaves and serve with yellow or white rice. |
Recipes & food styling Connie Clarkson / Photography Manja Wachsmuth