Chez Mostafa

Recipes from our kitchens

Simple chicken curry

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4

Cheap and easy, an old stand-by

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken marylands

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil

  • 2 medium-sized brown onions

  • 2 cloves garlic

  • 1-inch piece ginger

  • 1 tsp ground cumin

  • 1 tsp ground coriander

  • ½ tsp ground turmeric

  • ½ tsp chilli powder (optional, adjust to taste)

  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon

  • ½ tsp ground cloves

  • ½ tsp ground cardamom

  • 1 tomato

  • ½ sprig fresh coriander leaves

  • ½ tsp salt

Directions

  1. Peel the onions, garlic and ginger. On a large chopping board, finely slice the onions and garlic; chop the ginger into fine dice. Keep all three separate. Set aside. Quarter the tomato and set aside.

  2. Make two separate masalas in two bowls. In the first bowl, add the cumin,coriander, turmeric, and chilli powder; in the second, add the cinnamon,cloves and cardamom.

  3. Heat the oil in a large cooking pot over medium heat. Gentle fry the chicken, just browning the skin - take care with the temperature, if the oil is too hot the skin will stick to the pan and peel off. Turn each maryland so that it browns lightly on all sides. (If you aren’t able to fit all the chicken in the pot in a single layer, do them in batches - don’t try to pile them up.) Set aside on a large plate or bowl.

  4. Increase the heat a little, and fry the onions, stirring frequently. When they start turning translucent, add the garlic and ginger and fry, stirring, for another thirty seconds. Don’t let the garlic burn: as soon as it starts changing colour, pour in the first masala (the more copious one). Stir, frying, for thirty seconds, then stir in the chopped tomato.

  5. Turn the heat down to low, and add the chicken marylands along with the second masala. Pour in a couple tablespoons of water, cover and simmer for about half an hour. Every five or ten minutes, lift the lid to turn the chicken gently with a wooden spoon, taking care to stir in such a way as to check that the curry is not sticking to the bottom of the pot.

  6. Use a thin skewer to make sure the chicken runs clear (if it’s pink, it’s still a bit bloody inside)—that’s when you know it’s done. Serve with rice and a vegetable dish or a daal.