I’ve never ever thought that I make a mean chicken curry. Well. Not like my mum. She made it well and I enjoyed it when I was young.

Then I made it for my boyfriend and he loved it. I made it again and then again and each time he would turn to me and say, “Why would you think you can’t cook a chicken curry?” I wouldn’t say it, but I would think that it’s really not like my mother’s.

I feel like as I evolved as a little home chef, my tastebuds did too. I’ve learned the power of my homemade red and green masala and use it often when I cook. It really does add depth of flavour to my curies. Click on the link below for the full recipe. Alternatively, Woolies sells crushed green chilies and you could use that.

This recipe has a 30 minute marinade and tastes better if the chicken is skinless.

Did you know: Britain’s national dish is curry. Chicken tikka masala to be exact. Originally developed in India, curry is a blend of spices, coriander, chili and ginger and garlic. It’s fragrant and according to the Britannica curry the word derives from the Tamil language, kari, meaning sauce.

Ingredients

8 pieces of chicken
3 potatoes, quartered

1 onion, sliced

2 tbsp oil

a handful of curry leaves

1 star aniseed

2-3 cloves

3 bay leaves

1 teaspoon jeera seeds

1 tsp fenugreek/mustard seeds

1 elachi/cardimom

cinnamon stick

4 jam tomatoes, grated

1 tbsp tomatoe paste

1/2 cup water

6-8 green chilies

4 tsp kashmiri spice/chili powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

2-3 tsp garam masala

2 tsp jeera powder

Marinade

1/2 cup yoghurt

4 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika

Method

1. Marinate your chicken pieces for 30 minutes. Make sure to wash and pat the chicken dry before you marinate it.

2. Heat oil in a large pot and add all the seeds to your oil. Curry leave, bay leaves, mustard seeds, jeera seeds, cinnamon, elachi… When it starts to become fragrant, add onions.

3. Fry onions until it starts to sweat.

4. Add green chili and all the dry spices. Keep your wet masala aside.

5. When the smell of the raw spices start to become fragrant, drop in your chicken pieces. You want to make sure to keep mixing and to coat the chicken well in all the spices.

6. Lower to medium heat and let the chicken cook for 5 minutes. You want to keep tossing it about while it cooks. Add a tiny amount of water to prevent it from sticking to your pot.

7. Add tomatoes and wet masala to the pot. Stir well and let the curry simmer for 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally and don’t let the gravy stick to the bottom of the pot. If it does, lower the heat. The gravy will begin to thicken.

8. Add potatoes and cook the curry on low heat for another 20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. The curry should be much thicker at this stage.

9. Garnish with a little more garam masala and some coriander.

10. Serve hot.