Monday, February 25, 2008

Chicken curry

My friends Ami and Ashely had a project to do for food and culture. We decided to make Chicken Curry.



Ingredients
4 tbsp vegetable oil
4 cloves
4-6 green cardamom pods
1 piece cinnamon stick, 5 cm/2 in long
3 whole star anise (we didn't use this, it was too expensive)
6-8 curry leaves
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 piece fresh ginger 5 cm/2 in long, crushed (we used powder)
4 cloves garlic, crushed (we used diced garlic from a jar)
4 tbsp mild curry paste
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp five-spice powder
3 lb chicken, skinned and jointed (we used boneless chicken breasts, 2 1/2 lb)
14 oz. canned tomatoes, chopped (we used diced canned tomatoes)
4 oz. creamed coconut
1/2 a tsp sugar
salt, to taste
2 cups fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped (we didn't use nearly this much, we discovered we didn't like coriander)

1. Heat oil in pan and fry the cloves, cardamoms, cinnamon stick, star anise and curry leaves until the cloves swell and the curry leaves are slightly burnt.

2. Add the onion, ginger and garlic and fry until the onion turns brown. Add the five-spice powder and fry until the oil separates.

3. Add the chicken pieces and mix well. When all the pieces are evenly sealed, cover and cook until the meat is nearly done.

4. Add the chopped tomatoes and the creamed coconut. Simmer gently until the coconut dissolves. Mix well and add the sugar and salt. Foldin the chopped fresh coriander (cilantro), then reheat and serve hot.

I think it turned out very well. I'm looking forward to making it again. It is a bit expensive to set up all the spices. But once you have them all you need to buy is chicken.

No comments: