Hot and Fragrant Chicken Curry

This wonderfully tasty and versatile curry is a midweek staple in my house.  It really is very easy and can be tweaked to suit your mood; hot and spicy, mild and creamy, sweet and nutty...whatever you feel like.

I do not apologise for using curry powder, I don't have the time nor the inclination during a busy week to start dry roasting and grinding whole spices.  I believe that if you find a good quality curry powder that you like then boost the aromatic spices with a touch of garam masala, you're onto a winner.  I use Bolst's Mild Curry Powder that I buy from my local specialist food shop (The Wild Food Company in Malmesbury), it's got very rounded spices and I like to control the heat myself.  For the heat I usually use generic red chillies, they are not normally particularly hot so I will use one for the flavour then up the heat with dried chilli flakes if I want to.  If I'm feeling like a hot, hot, hot curry I use scotch bonnet chilli peppers...these are seriously hot though, so beware!

I always remove the skin from the red pepper by putting pieces of pepper under the grill until the skin blisters and blackens.  It is not essential to do this but I feel it concentrates the sweetness and makes a smoother sauce.
This is great made with either breast or thigh meat.

 

Ingredients

500g Chicken Breast or Boneless, Skinless Thigh, cut into chunky pieces

1 Large Red Onion

1 inch cube Fresh Ginger

3-4 Garlic Cloves

1 Fresh Chilli, to taste (see notes above)

1 Red Pepper (with the skin removed by blackening it under the grill)
Sunflower Oil

2 teaspoons Curry Powder

1 teaspoons Garam Masala

Salt and Black Pepper
Water or Stock

Lemon Juice to taste

Sugar to taste
Fresh Coriander

Optional Additions : Cream, Coconut Cream, Ground Almonds, Tomatoes
 

• Start by making a paste with the onion, ginger, garlic, fresh chilli and red pepper.  I do this in my mini-chopper but you can use a blender (using a glug of sunflower oil to help it along) or just chop it all together as finely as possible on a board.
• Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan or wok then add the onion paste with a generous seasoning of salt and black pepper.
• Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring it around on a high heat then add the curry powder and garam masala.  This now needs to be cooked for another few minutes until the spice aroma is rising from the pan and the oil is separating slightly.
• Tip in the chunks of chicken and stir them around to coat with the spicy paste.  Do this until the meat is sealed then pour in enough water or stock to cover the meat (you can use coconut milk instead at this point if you like).
• This now needs to be cooked for 15-20 minutes until the liquid is reduced and the chicken is cooked.
• At this point you can tailor it to how you like it, possibly by adding a few tablespoons of double cream or coconut cream, maybe sprinkling in a handful of ground almonds to thicken and enrich the sauce.  At the very least you will need to taste your curry and adjust the seasoning as needed, I always add a few squeezes of lemon juice, a sprinkling of sugar to balance and possibly a touch more salt.
• Finish with a stir-through of fresh coriander (if liked) and serve.



Sweet Coconut Flatbread

These delicious flatbreads make an excellent accompaniment to a curry and are very easy to make.
I normally use semi-skimmed milk to bind the dough together, however I use coconut milk instead if I'm opening a tin to use in something else.
They can be made a few hours in advance then warmed up, wrapped in foil in the oven for 5-10 minutes.

                                     

 Makes about 10 flatbreads

Ingredients

200g Plain Flour

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

50g Butter

50g Desiccated Coconut

Pinch of Salt

50g Caster Sugar

Approx. 6 tablespoons Milk or Coconut Milk 

• Tip the plain flour into a large bowl with the baking powder.  Cut the butter into small pieces, add it to the flour then, using the tips of your fingers, rub it into the flour until it is all in little lumps.
• Add the coconut, salt and sugar and mix thoroughly to evenly distribute. 
• Add the milk or coconut milk a couple of tablespoons at a time, mixing vigorously until it comes together in a firm dough.  Wrap the ball of dough in cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
• When you are ready to make the flatbreads break off a golf ball sized piece of dough and roll it between your hands into a ball. 
• Generously flour your work surface and rolling pin then roll out the ball of dough, flipping it over and moving it after every roll to keep it from sticking.  Roll it out until it is a couple of millimetres thick if you can.  Set aside.
• Repeat this with the rest of the dough, stacking the rolled out discs between pieces of greaseproof/baking paper or sprinklings of flour.
• Put a griddle pan or frying pan onto a high heat then dry cook the flatbreads for 1-2 minutes each side until cooked through and patchy golden brown.
• Stack and eat immediately or allow to cool then wrap in foil to heat later.