Most of my recipes are fairly simple so this one I am going to add a little flare as it is a friday night and I am on the merry juice :)

 

We're making a spicy carrot and chicken curry. That's sweet and savory all mixed into delicious spiciness !!

 

First dice 4 large carrots and fry them until they start browning on the edges, remove and put aside.

 

Next, cut 500g of chicken into whatever size pieces you want, I like chicken on the bone and get the butcher to cut it up or get packs of drumsticks from costco. Get your oil really hot and brown the chicken on the outside, we're not cooking it, we're sealing it at this stage, once browned remove from pan and put aside. 

 

Now the real flavour, slice and fry an onion on medium heat with plenty of oil. Add finely chopped garlic and ginger, 1 tsp of cumin seeds and 1/4 tsp of fennel seeds, if you have them. Don't worry if you don't. Don't add any ground stuff at this stage. 

 

The heat should be just low enough and the onions in enough oil so that they don't caramelise just become translucent. Now we're going to get creative and add 4-6 cloves, 4-5 cardamom pods and a small stick of cinnamon. If you don't have any of those things - don't worry about it. 

 

OK, keep frying for around 10 mins, now we're going to add the ground spices. Remember once you add the ground spices you have to moisturise so you have to wait until the whole stuff like onions, garlic, ginger, cloves, etc are all done. We're going to add

 

• 1/2 tsp of coriander,

• 1 tsp of salt,

• 1/2 tsp paprika,

• 1/4 tsp turmeric ( haldi ),

• 1/2 tsp curry powder ( this always feels like cheating but it's not ... I think ), where was i ...

• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper,

• 1/2 tsp cumin powder. 

 

Now the pan is going to dry up pretty fast, grab a can of tomatoes or tomato puree and stir in a little to stop things from sticking. You want to fry off the spices as long as you can. So moistures little by little.

 

After about 5 mins, if you're adding puree add a cup of hot water, if you're using canned tomatoes throw in the whole can. Now you need to cook this base for at least 15 minutes otherwise its not a curry. 

 

Pfew, right, now throw in the caramelised carrots, the chicken, fresh coriander if you have it, and chillies if you want it spicy.

 

Add hot water to just cover everything, put it on low heat and cover. Simmer for 30 mins, leave off the heat uncovered for 10 minutes and you're good to eat.