Delicious chicken curry

Creamy coconut and freshly ground cinnamon give this delicious and easy to make chicken curry a lovely Indian ocean flavour and aroma.

Ingredients

Spice Mix

• 2 teaspoons of cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
• ¼ teaspoon of fenugreek seeds
• ½ tablespoon of coriander seeds
• ½ tablespoon of black peppercorns
• 2 inch cinnamon stick

Curry

• 1 whole chicken jointed or 8 chicken pieces
• 2 tablespoons of groundnut oil
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon of mild chilli powder
• ½ tablespoon of finely grated ginger
• ½ teaspoon of turmeric
• 2½ ounces / 70g creamed coconut, chopped

Method

Put the spice mix into a frying pan over a low heat until lightly roasted, stirring constantly. Grind to a fine powder in a pestle and mortar.

Heat the oil in a medium casserole dish and fry the onion until it begins to caramelize. Remove the onion and place to one side.

Brown the chicken in the casserole dish then add the spice mix and all the remaining ingredients, keeping the creamed coconut to one side for now.

Give everything a good stir and once the chicken has become evenly coated add the creamed coconut with 10½ fluid ounces / 300ml of water.

Bring to the boil, stirring regularly to make sure the creamed coconut dissolves into the sauce.

Cover and simmer for 1 hour on a low heat, stirring every now and again.

Tips

Serve this with rice.

Trivia

Cinnamon is a spice known to our ancestors for several thousand years. The ancient Egyptians imported it from at least 2000 BC but traders kept its origin a closely guarded secret so it was always considered something of a mystery spice. In fact, they were almost certainly sourcing it from certain parts of India and Sri Lanka and trading it around the Mediterranean.