Vocal Voices

Don took this recipe from Scrumpdillyicious website - how could he not?

1 1/2 lb chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
2 1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp vegetable, or olive oil
6 oz finely chopped onion, about 1 medium onion
2 1/2 tsp chopped garlic
1 1/2 tsp chopped ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground fennel seeds
6 tbsp water
1 lb can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, plus extra for garnish
6 tbsp plain Greek yogurt

Cut up the chicken breasts into quaters, pat dry and sprinkle with salt. Heat the oil over high heat in a large skillet, until water flicked into it splutters instantly. Add the chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, until each piece is white and fairly firm. Transfer the chicken to plate. When cool enough to handle, tear up into smaller pieces.

Add the onions, garlic and ginger to the oil remaining in the pan and sauté for about 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly, until the onions are soft and golden brown. Reduce the heat to low, add the cumin, turmeric, ground coriander, fennel and 1 tablespoon of water, and cook for a minute or so, stirring constantly. Stir in the tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of fresh cilantro, the yogurt and the remaining teaspoon of salt.

Increase the heat to medium and add the chicken plus any juices that have accumulated on the plate. Pour in the rest of the water. Bring to a boil, turning the chicken over in the sauce to coat the pieces evenly. Sprinkle the top with garam masala and the rest of the fresh cilantro. Reduce the heat to low, cover tightly, and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the chicken is tender but not falling apart. I often extend the cooking time up to 60-90 minutes with great results. The chicken just ends up breaking up a bit more.

To serve, arrange the chicken attractively on a heated dish, pour the remaining sauce over top, and sprinkle with chopped cilantro. I usually accompany the Chicken Curry with steamed basmati rice, crisp papadum and warm naan.

He told me he didn't add as much salt or oil as stated in the recipe...personal taste of course. He also added a good scoosh of chilli flakes...again, personal taste.

Thanks Ally, it sounds lovely, I might get some chicken to do it at the weekend

that does sound delicious - thanks!

Thanks Ally (and Don!)

I can certainly vouch for the rich kari/kahari/korai curries, especially when made with dry spices and other individual ingredients to make the gravy/sauce, as in Ally's recipe. They give plenty of room for tweaking.

Forex, I prefer crème fraîche to the Greek yoghurt and would cut down (out) the corriander greens.

Looks like I will be making loads of basmati veg rice and Peshwari naans this weekend.

I have just made three good sized portions from quite a large chicken breast - one for tea tomorrow and two for the freezer. I followed the recipe except for the tomatoes, I used passata, and the yoghurt, I used crème fraîche, but mainly because they were in the cupboard and fridge.

I have also done basmati and veg rice and am now on the way to making Peshwari naans.

If you ever want to impress your guests with your curry skills this one hits the spot, and all done in under an hour. Well worth it.

We're making it tomorrow, using thigh fillets - I even splashed out and bought poppadoms

Sounds like this curry could become a VV favourite.

Meant to say that Don also added a scoosh of frito (passata) as he was putting in the tomatoes.

Ally wrote:Sounds like this curry could become a VV favourite.

Deffo.

Peshwari naans are made, all foil wrapped and in the freezer.

Now, how do you make pappads, hmm?

Ingredients
2 cups (250g or 9 oz) urad flour (almost any flour is OK but urad is best)
1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml) ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml) ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon (1ml) salt
1/4 cup (60ml or 2 fl oz) water
2 cups (500ml or 17 fl oz) oil

Method
Add the flour, black pepper, cumin and salt to a large bowl and mix well
Make a hole in the middle of the flour mixture, add the water and mix everything together until you have a dough
Knead the dough for a few minutes until it is smooth
Sprinkle flour onto a work surface
Pull a small piece of dough off the dough mixture and roll into a ball about 1 1/2 inches in diameter
Flatten the ball of dough with your hand and roll it with a rolling pin until it is thin and about 5 to 6 inches in diameter - try to make the poppadom as round as possible (tip - you can get perfectly round poppadoms by putting a small plate or saucer onto the rolled poppadoms and cutting round the edge of the plate/saucer (add the cut-offs back the main dough mixture)
Repeat the above steps by pulling off more dough from the main piece and rolling out the poppadoms
Heat the oil in a deep saucepan over a medium heat
Put an uncooked poppadom into the oil and fry for 2 minutes without turning the poppadom
Turn over the poppadom and let it fry for 30-40 seconds and then remove the cooked poppadom with a slotted spatula, letting the excess oil drip back into the saucepan, before putting the poppadom onto a large plate that has a sheet of kitchen paper on it (the cooking time of the poppadom depends on the heat of the oil so you need to judge the cooking time of the first poppadom and then cook all the other poppadoms to the same length of time - you are looking for golden brown cooked poppadoms)
Dab the excess oil off the poppadom
Repeat the cooking process uintil you have a plateful of poppadoms
Serve warm


What is urad flour?