Chicken Curry

Ingredients

  • large onion (1)
  • garlic cloves, roughly chopped (6)
  • ginger, roughly chopped (50 grams)
  • vegetable oil (4 tablespoons)
  • cumin seeds (2 teaspoons)
  • fennel seed (1 teaspoon)
  • cinnamon stick (5 cm)
  • chilli flakes (1 teaspoon)
  • garam masala (1 teaspoon)
  • turmeric (1 teaspoon)
  • caster sugar (1 teaspoon)
  • chopped tomatoes (400g can)
  • chicken thighs, skinned, boneless (8 (800 grams))
  • chicken stock (250 mL)
  • chopped coriander (2 tablespoons)

Instructions

  1. Roughly chop the onion and then either coarsely grate or process to a paste using a blender or food processor.
  2. Chop and then crush the garlic (6 cloves) to a paste with a knife or garlic press.
  3. Finely grate the ginger.
  4. Heat the oil (4 tbsp) in a wok or sturdy pan set over a medium heat.
  5. Combine the cumin seeds (2 tsp) and fennel seeds (1 tsp) with the cinnamon and chilli flakes (1 tsp) and add to the pan in one go.
  6. Swirl everything around for about 30 seconds until the spices release a fragrant aroma.
  7. Add the onion paste — it will splutter in the beginning. Fry until the water evaporates and the onions turn a lovely dark golden - this should take about 7-8 minutes.
  8. Add the garlic and ginger paste and cook for another 2 minutes stirring all the time.
  9. Stir in the garam masala (1 tsp), turmeric (1 tsp), and sugar (1 tsp) and continue cooking for 20 seconds before tipping in the tomatoes.
  10. Continue cooking on a medium heat for about 10 minutes without a lid until the tomatoes reduce and darken.
  11. Add chicken. Cook for 5 minutes.
  12. Pour over the hot chicken stock. Simmer for 8-10 minutes without a lid until the chicken is tender and the masala lightly thickened — you might need to add an extra ladleful of stock or water if the curry needs it.
  13. Sprinkle with chopped coriander and serve with Indian flatbreads or fluffy basmati rice and a pot of yogurt on the side.