HOME-STYLE CHICKEN CURRY

Simple and comforting.

Add some bread, rice, raita or salad, and you

have one of the most delicious meals. This recipe uses easy-to-find

ingredients and is a favourite on days when I miss home. The key is

to blend the onions separately from the garlic and ginger; the temptation is to blend them together, but the cooking times

vary for each.

Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 55 minutes

Serves four

INGREDIENTS

180g white onions, roughly chopped

6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped 2.5cm ginger root, roughly chopped

120g tomatoes, roughly chopped 1 heaped tbsp tomato purée

(paste)

3 tbsp vegetable oil 5 green cardamom pods,

whole 2½cm cinnamon stick

2 dried bay leaves

1 tsp ground turmeric ½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander 850g skinless chicken on the bone, jointed

Salt, to taste 270ml water 230g potatoes, peeled

and diced Chopped coriander,

to garnish

1 tbsp lemon juice

Place the onions into a blender and blend to a smooth paste; remove and

set aside. In the same blender, blend the garlic and ginger; remove and set aside. Now add the

tomatoes and tomato purée to the blender and blitz to a smooth paste,

then set aside. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based, non-stick saucepan over a medium

heat. Add the whole spices, and when they sizzle, add the onion paste

and fry for nine to 10 minutes, stirring well.

Next add the garlic and ginger paste, and fry for

one minute. Add the tomato paste and fry for another two minutes. It

will begin to thicken. Now, add the turmeric, chilli powder, cumin and ground coriander, and fry for three minutes,

stirring well. Add the chicken and mix to coat with all the spices, frying for seven to

eight minutes to seal on all sides. Season to taste, then add the water. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the potatoes and continue cooking, with

the lid on, for another 15-17 minutes, until the potatoes are done and the

chicken is cooked through. Garnish with the

fresh coriander and squeeze over the lemon juice. Serve with fresh roti

or spiced rice and a salad.