Jews have long had a love affair with Chinese food but we have rather neglected that other British passion, Indian cuisine. Perhaps this is because many Indian dishes have an unhealthy reputation or combine meat and dairy products. However there are many which are both healthy and kosher. Either way, we are missing out so it is time that we caught up with our compatriots.
This wonderfully rich chicken curry is easy enough to cook for a midweek meal and makes a perfect warming dinner for a dark December evening. It is also tasty enough to serve as the centrepiece of a an Indian-themed dinner party. I make it here with chicken but you can easily substitute lamb. If doing so, I would increase the cooking time to one hour 30 minutes to ensure that the meat is tender.
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Preparation time: 1 hour 20 minutes. Serves 4
Ingredients
● 8 chicken thighs on or off the bone, skin removed
● 500g tinned tomatoes
● 3cm piece root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
● 4 cloves garlic, peeled
● Two large onions
● 2 tsp garam masala
● I tsp hot chilli powder (more depending on how spicy you like your curry)
● 1 tsp ground cumin
● 1 tsp ground coriander
● 1tsp cinnamon
● 1/2 tsp turmeric
● Salt and pepper
● 2 tbsp vegetable oil
● Chopped coriander to garnish (optional)
Method
● Peel and chop the onions and fry with the vegetable oil in a deep saucepan or casserole until well browned but not burnt.
● Spoon onions and oil into a blender. Add the tinned tomatoes, the garlic and ginger and blend until smooth.
● Note: this stage can also be done in the saucepan with a hand-blender, but beware splattering!
● Return contents of blender into saucepan. Add the spices, season with salt and pepper and bring to boil.
● Add the chicken pieces and simmer for 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. If the mixture is too thick during cooking, let down with a little water.
● Serve with basmati rice and garnish with the coriander if desired.
● Please note, this recipe has not been tested by the JC.
