The Family

"Sometimes the simplest curries are the best - here's my recipe for a Chicken Curry - made easy!"

Ingredients

"Mum's food is made from the heart and with lots of LOVE and therefore she doesn't believe in measurements!" - Shay

- 1 pound boneless chicken (should serve up to 3 people)
- 3 medium sized onions
- 4/5 cloves of peeled garlic
- A piece of ginger (the same amount as the garlic cloves)
- Coriander
- Green chillies (as hot as you like!)
- Polly's homemade garam masala (am not going to give that away just yet but you can make garam masala by mixing 100g packet of coriander powder and 100g cumin powder)
- Salt
- Turmeric
- Curry leaves
- Cumin seeds
- Ghee or Oil
- Half a can of peeled tomatoes

Method

1. Add three finely chopped onions to 3 large table spoons of oil or ghee. Stir until golden brown ensuring this is on a low/medium gas.
   Shay's tip: should the onions start to stick to the pan add half a tea spoon of salt and stir – it will ensure the onions cook as opposed to burn or stick
2. When the onions are cooking and have turned slightly golden brown add 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds and a few curry leaves
3. Whilst this is cooking at low heat you must prepare the paste which is the base of the curry and gives it its texture...
4. Add the garlic, ginger, a pinch of coriander, the half a can of tomatoes and green chillies to the grinder and grind until they become a paste.
   Shay's tip: I like a handful of chillies, however you can add as many chillies as you like dependant on how spicy you like your food... I've always thought the spicier the better...
5. Add this paste or mixture to the golden brown cooked onions and stir the mixture. Now add 1 ½ teaspoon of Salt, 1 ½ teaspoon turmeric, 1 ½ teaspoon of garam masala and stir
6. Allow the mixture to cook at medium heat and consistently stir at regular intervals
7. Add the washed chicken once the mixture starts to let out oil and has simmered on medium heat fro about 10 minutes
8. Put the chicken on low heat and cook for 10/15 minutes, stirring at regular intervals. Allow the chicken to cook by putting the lid on the pan so that the steam cooks and marinates the chicken
9. After the 15 minutes of simmering, add boiling hot water according to the amount of gravy you want. NO MORE than ½ a cup of boiling hot water. Allow to simmer for another 5 minutes and put some chopped coriander on top of the chicken

Punjabi chicken is best served with japatis and/or rice pilau!

Enjoy!!

See also Polly's Chicken and Spring Onion Pakora recipe, and Polly's Perfect Cup of Tea!