Home-style chicken curry

By Birgitta

Chosen by Atul Kochhar: You can't go wrong cooking this unless you leave the pot on the stove and go on a long vacation. This recipe is best cooked with a free-range chicken on the bone; if it has to be boneless I prefer to cook with chicken thighs. Adding ginger toward the end is a unique step that enhances the flavour. I have cooked this recipe a thousand times - it just keeps getting better.

Ingredients

• 3 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 green cardamom, 2.5cm cinnamon stick, 10-12 black peppercorns, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 cloves all pounded together with a pestle and mortar
• 250 g onions, finely sliced
• 1/2 tsp garlic, minced to a paste
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• salt to taste
• 100 g tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 600 g chicken, boned, cut into
• 2.5 cm dice
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp coriander leaves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ginger, finely chopped

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from guardian.co.uk

Preparation

Step 1

Heat the oil in a pan, add the bay leaf and pounded spices, and stir until the spices crackle and they change colour. Add the onions and sauté until golden brown, then add the garlic paste. Stir continuously and keep scraping the bottom of the pan to avoid the mix getting burnt. Add the powdered spices, but not the garam masala. Mix quickly without letting the spices get burnt at the bottom. Add salt, the tomatoes and the paste and cook on slow heat, stirring slowly. As the tomatoes melt to form a sauce, add the chicken and cook on a slow heat for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is almost cooked. Sprinkle on the garam masala and simmer to finish cooking. Add coriander and sprinkle on ginger.