Aysha Bora’s coconut chicken curry

When I was growing up I hated cooking. My family is from India and preparing big meals for the extended family was part of our culture, but I used to beg for any job other than cooking.

Then I got married and moved to Africa and suddenly everything changed – I began calling my mother and asking her for recipes. She told me: “Cooking for someone you love is what makes you a good cook.” This curry is a favourite of my family in Tanzania.

SERVES FOUR INGREDIENTS

1 large chicken, jointed into eight pieces, the excess skin trimmed away

1 large ripe tomato, roughly chopped

1 onion, quartered

15g fresh root ginger, peeled 4 garlic cloves, peeled 6 serrano chillies, stems removed and deseeded (use fewer if you prefer milder curries)

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground turmeric

2 tbsp coconut oil

2 x 400ml tins coconut milk 3 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled and halved juice of ½ lemon

10g fresh coriander, chopped, to garnish

Rice, chapatis or flatbreads, to serve

METHOD

Score each piece of the chicken in two or three places, slicing about 1cm into the meat.

Put the tomato, onion, ginger, garlic, chillies, cumin, coriander, turmeric and some salt and pepper into a food processor and blend to a rough paste. Rub one third of the paste all over the chicken, into the cuts and under the skin; reserve the rest of the mixture. Refrigerate the chicken for at least one hour, or up to five hours.

Preheat the grill to the highest setting, and line a large baking tin with foil.

In a large pan, melt the coconut oil on a medium heat; add the remaining paste and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until all of the moisture evaporates. Increase the heat slightly and cook for three to five minutes until the paste is thick and dark. Add the coconut milk and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes until the sauce is thick.

Meanwhile, put the marinated chicken, skin side up, in the lined baking tin and grill for 15 minutes, until well coloured and charred, then turn the chicken over and grill for another five minutes to make sure it is cooked through.

Stir the chicken and any juices into the curry pan, bring to a simmer, cover and cook for five minutes until the flavours have combined.

Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Add the boiled eggs and the lemon juice to taste. Sprinkle with the chopped coriander and serve with rice, chapatis or flatbreads. project. In my former role as editor of Good Housekeeping I oversaw the development of hundreds of recipes a year. I know a good recipe when I see – and taste – one. The dishes at Hubb are family histories recreated in food, honed and perfected over generations, handed down from mother to daughter. Each has its own story. Gurmit Kaur recalled the exact day she was taught to make aubergine masala by her own mother in Uganda in 1976. Of four sisters she was the best at making it – so it became her recipe, which she shares in the book, Together.

And as we sat chatting while filling then folding samosas, Munira told me, “Before the fire I never knew what therapy was… but it turns out cooking is my therapy.” The recipes in this book are comfort food – in its truest sense.

Pitching in: the Duchess of Sussex helped with the cooking at theHubb Community Kitchen, which was set up at the Al Manaar centre, west London, in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire