Taste Tibet Famous Chicken Curry

INGREDIENTS

2 tblsps cooking oil 2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2.5cm piece of ginger, washed but not peeled, thinly sliced

1 small red onion, thinly sliced 2 large tomatoes, thinly sliced ¼ tsp turmeric

1 tsp Bassar curry masala (or hot chilli powder)

1½ tsps Madras curry powder 2 tblsps coconut milk powder 6-8 fresh curry leaves, or 10-12 dried 1 x 400ml tin coconut milk

600g chicken breast fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 tsp salt

Chopped coriander, to garnish (optional)

METHOD

1

Place a heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium-high heat and add the oil. When it’s hot, add the garlic and ginger and let it brown for a couple of minutes, then add the onion and stir for a further 2 minutes. Now add the tomatoes, turmeric, curry masala and curry powder. Mix together and cook for 10-15 minutes, turning the heat down a little and adding about 50ml of water if anything starts to catch, then add the coconut milk powder, curry leaves and coconut milk and mix thoroughly. Take your time here: you are making a curry paste, and it needs to be cooked through completely before you can add

2 the chicken.

Now add the chicken and salt. Turn the heat back up to high, stir the chicken through the sauce and cook for 8-10 minutes, adding a little boiling water – but only a little – if anything sticks. The pan should be quite dry to begin with, before the juices from the chicken start to be released, so wait a while before 3 adding any water.

After the chicken has been in for 8 minutes, check to make sure it is fully cooked. To do this, take a piece out and cut it through the middle – it should be white all the way through. If the sauce looks too thick, add a little more boiling water and stir briskly for 2 minutes. Garnish with coriander, if you like, then serve.