Basic Chicken Curry
Posted on 21 May 2016I love a nice curry every now and then but the recipes for many curries are quite involved and while I do enjoy the cooking process, I am sometimes lazy so it helps to have quick methods —such as this recipe, which expediates things using a blender.
Now, this recipe can have quite a bit of heat to it, depending on the peppers you choose to use. I tend to favour a quite-hot pepper, like the Ghost or Habanero variety, as I like things spicy.
| Prep Time | 2-5 minutes |
| Cook Time | 30-45 minutes |
| Spiciness | none to very, it’s up to you |
Ingredients
| Amount | Ingredient | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 lbs | chicken | whole legs/thighs or breast |
| 1 tablespoon | neutral oil | such as peanut or olive |
| 1 tablespoon | butter | — |
| 2 | onions | peeled and quartered |
| 2 whole cloves | garlic | peeled |
| 2-inch piece | ginger | peeled |
| 1-2 whole | very hot peppers, stem removed | Such as Habanero, Ghost or Scotch Bonnet. (You can use a jalapeno if you prefer a milder curry). |
| 2-3 tablespoons | lemon juice | about ½ a lemon |
| ½ cup | chopped tomato | fresh or canned |
| 1 tablespoon | ground cumin | — |
| 1 tablespoon | ground coriandre | — |
| 1 tablespoon | turmeric | — |
| 1 teaspoon | garam masala | — |
| 1 teaspoon | salt | — |
| 2 cups | chicken stock | — |
| 1 cup | plain yoghurt or coconut milk | by “plain” I don’t mean vanilla and be sure the milk is unsweetened |
Directions
- Make your curry base by placing the onion, garlic, ginger, peppers, lemon juice & all powdered spices into a blender and blend until smooth.
- Remove the skin from the chicken, if not already. If using chicken breasts, cut those into cubes.
- Heat the butter and oil in a deep pot over medium heat until it begins to sizzle. Add the chicken to the pot and brown on all sides.
- Pour the curry base over the chicken and stir to coat. Next add the chicken stock, cover and bring just to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and continue cooking until the chicken is fully cooked —30-45 minutes.
- A few minutes before serving stir in the yoghurt or coconut milk.
- Serve over rice, if desired, and garnish with cilantro leaves.