Rich chicken curry

I’m not one to blow my own trumpet, but the last couple of attempts I have made at Indian cuisine have been absolute zingers! This recipe is another that I’d be happy to eat every day of the week!  It’s a rich, sweet and spicy recipe and I’d be a very contented diner if I had this in a restaurant.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons of groundnut oil
• ¼ teaspoon of fenugreek seeds
• ½ teaspoon of black peppercorns
• 5 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 onions, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1.2 lbs / 500g diced chicken breast
• 1 teaspoon of ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
• ½ tablespoon of mild chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon of chilli flakes
• 1 tablespoon of ginger paste
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 5 tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 3½ ounces / 100g yoghurt
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• 17½ fluid ounces / 500ml water
• juice of half a lemon
• ¼ teaspoon of garam masala

Method

Add the oil to a large, heavy based pan over a medium heat.

Add the fenugreek seeds, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon stick and bay leaf and fry for a minute or two until they’re just starting to colour.

Add the onions and continue to fry for another 10 minutes or until the onions are tender.

Add the garlic and cook for a further minute, before adding the coriander, cumin, chilli powder, chilli flakes, ginger paste and salt.  Cook for another 3 minutes stirring continuously.

Add the chicken and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring constantly, until everything is coated in the spices.

Add the tomatoes and cook for another 10 minutes, continuing to stir.

Add the yoghurt and chilli and combine, cooking for another 2 minutes.

Pour in the water and bring this to the boil, before simmering for another 20 minutes.

Finally, stir in the lemon juice and garam masala and cook for 1 minute.

Remove the cinnamon stick and bay leaf and serve your delicious curry with rice.

Trivia

Fenugreek is an annual herb, the seeds of which are commonly found in Indian cuisine. The charred remains of fenugreek seeds have been found by archaeologists in Bronze age settlements in Iraq dating to around 4000BC. and they were also found in the tomb of Egyptian boy king Tutankhamun. The Roman politician, Cato the Elder, lists fenugreek among crops grown to feed cattle. The Jewish historian, Josephus, refers to it as a staple food in 1st century AD Galilee. Both the leaves and the seeds can be found in curry recipes. The young shoots can be used as microgreens where they are known as samudra methi in the Maharashtra region, especially around Mumbai.