We fancied a curry this evening as the weather has turned for the worse and is much cooler than it has been and also very wet... again. Indian/Asian style food is probably our weakest cuisine when cooking off the top of our heads and so we still use guidance, for instance with curries like this.
We recently acquired Madhur Jaffrey's 'Curry Easy'. The book is amazing and this is post is based upon one of the recipes that belongs in this book - we wanted to share it with you as it is simple and extremely tasty! We obviously cannot take credit for this recipe but as we continue to cook this style of cuisine we hope to make future posts of our own creations involving the flavours from the vast combinations of available spices that can be married together. This recipe has been modified slightly and we believe it represents Madhur's recipe very well, although it does taste quite distinct from the original. This is a very good example of us adjusting and learning as we go. If you fancy, contact us and we will give you the original recipe and you can cook both and 'taste the difference' yourself.
When it comes to eating curries, we most certainly do not have a very high tolerance to heat. In the recipe below, the cayenne pepper contributes a lovely, subtle warmth to the curry. However, if you believe you may be even more sensitive to heat than us, then please do not hesitate to reduce the quantity of cayenne.
Chicken and Cardamom Curry
Serves 4
Ingredients
5 tbsp olive oil
700 g boneless chicken, cut into large chunks
2 cinnamon sticks
12 green cardamom pods
2 large onions, peeled and chopped into half rings
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 tbsp coriander seeds, ground
1 tbsp cumin seeds, ground
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp asafoetida (optional)
1 inch fresh ginger, finely grated
1/4 tsp asafoetida (optional)
1 inch fresh ginger, finely grated
1 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
3 vine ripened tomatoes, chopped
3/4 litre chicken stock
Notes - We used boneless chicken as this is what we had available - just make sure it is leg meat as breast meat is invariably less flavoursome. You could also butcher a whole chicken into pieces. The cardamom pods are for flavour and not for eating so don't worry about the large number of them. The asafoetida is optional but just adds an earthy note into the curry - it is available from any good quality Asian store and is usually very cheap. Don't buy a massive pot as only a little is ever needed and it goes a long way! The cumin and coriander seeds are ground in a pestle and mortar - alternatively you can just use the ground version if you don't have the seeds, however, we believe that grinding the seeds yourself adds further texture to the sauce. We suggest preparing everything in advance ready to go into the pan as the recipe timings are short.
Method
1. Place a large heavy based frying pan over a high heat and heat the oil until smoking. Add the cardamom pods and cinnamon sticks. Fry for 10 seconds. Add the chicken and brown off. Once brown transfer to a bowl (leave the spices in the pan) and set the chicken aside. (Cook the chicken in batches so the pan isn't overcrowded thus allowing them to brown nicely - if your pan is not large enough).
2. Add the onions and lower the heat slightly, fry until lightly browned. Add the garlic and ginger and mix throughout the onions, frying for 30 seconds. Add the coriander, cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper and asafoetida and stir through the mixture. Add the tomatoes and cook until softened - approx. 3-4 minutes.
3. Replace the chicken into the pan, including all of the juices and add the chicken stock (season with salt if your stock is unsalted). Bring to the boil, cover and cook rapidly for 10-15 minutes (an extra 5 minutes for very large chunks if you butcher a whole chicken). Remove the lid and increase the heat, stirring now and then until the sauce has thickened.
Serve simply with boiled basmati rice and perhaps a naan bread or poppadoms.
Jacob
3/4 litre chicken stock
Notes - We used boneless chicken as this is what we had available - just make sure it is leg meat as breast meat is invariably less flavoursome. You could also butcher a whole chicken into pieces. The cardamom pods are for flavour and not for eating so don't worry about the large number of them. The asafoetida is optional but just adds an earthy note into the curry - it is available from any good quality Asian store and is usually very cheap. Don't buy a massive pot as only a little is ever needed and it goes a long way! The cumin and coriander seeds are ground in a pestle and mortar - alternatively you can just use the ground version if you don't have the seeds, however, we believe that grinding the seeds yourself adds further texture to the sauce. We suggest preparing everything in advance ready to go into the pan as the recipe timings are short.
Method
1. Place a large heavy based frying pan over a high heat and heat the oil until smoking. Add the cardamom pods and cinnamon sticks. Fry for 10 seconds. Add the chicken and brown off. Once brown transfer to a bowl (leave the spices in the pan) and set the chicken aside. (Cook the chicken in batches so the pan isn't overcrowded thus allowing them to brown nicely - if your pan is not large enough).
2. Add the onions and lower the heat slightly, fry until lightly browned. Add the garlic and ginger and mix throughout the onions, frying for 30 seconds. Add the coriander, cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper and asafoetida and stir through the mixture. Add the tomatoes and cook until softened - approx. 3-4 minutes.
3. Replace the chicken into the pan, including all of the juices and add the chicken stock (season with salt if your stock is unsalted). Bring to the boil, cover and cook rapidly for 10-15 minutes (an extra 5 minutes for very large chunks if you butcher a whole chicken). Remove the lid and increase the heat, stirring now and then until the sauce has thickened.
Serve simply with boiled basmati rice and perhaps a naan bread or poppadoms.
Jacob
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