Almost A Curry Convert

So long as the curry in question is fairly mild, that is!

As I mentioned in a previous post I found a recipe for Chicken Korma that I felt confident I could both make and eat. I was also hopeful that it would be mild enough that the kids would enjoy it and I knew that Hubby-who-never-gets-curry-because-his-wife-doesn't-like-it would be over the moon. I did find the recipe a little difficult to follow at times - it was a bit all over the place and I needed to read and re-read it to make sense of it. That could have been my lack of curry-making experience or it might have been the recipe book although I don't usually have a problem with Jamie Oliver recipes. I've changed a few bits and pieces to reflect either what I did or to make it a little easier to follow.

This was a resounding success. Once the recipe issues were dealt with it was easy to put together, easy to serve and everyone loved it. Offspring #1 was the first to ask for seconds but Hubby followed fairly quickly. Miss Fussy ate what she was given (she was on a promise of ice-cream) but didn't want more, though did concede that it was pretty good and she'd probably eat it again. Mostly because, "I like rice, Mummy." That's a good thing because the leftovers are in the freezer and when they're gone I'll definitely be making it again!

Chicken Korma

from Jamie's Ministry of Food by Jamie Oliver

Serves 4-6

800g skinless and boneless chicken thighs

1 large onion

optional: 1 fresh green chilli (umm... not up for that challenge just yet)

a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger

a small bunch of fresh coriander

400g tin chickpeas

vegetable oil

a knob of butter

1/2 of a 290g jar of Patak's korma curry paste

400ml tin coconut milk

small handful of flaked almonds, plus extra for serving

2 heaped tablespoons desiccated coconut

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

500g natural yoghurt (a small tub would do fine)

1 lemon (left it out)

To prepare your curry

Cut the chicken into approximately 3cm pieces.

Peel, halve and finely slice your onion.

Halve, deseed and finely slice the chilli if you're using it.

Peel and finely chop the ginger.

Pick the coriander leaves and finely chop the stalks.

Drain the chickpeas.

To make your curry

Put a large casserole-type pan on a high heat and add a couple of lugs of oil (what's a lug anyway? I added a couple of tablespoons worth). Put the chicken thighs into the pan and stir around until lightly browned.

Remove chicken from pan and keep warm.

Put butter, onion, chilli, ginger and coriander stalks into pan. Stir it around the pan so it doesn't catch and cook for about 10 minutes until it has turned evenly golden, then cook for another 10 minutes. Add the korma curry paste, coconut milk, the flaked almonds, drained chickpeas, desiccated coconut and return the chicken to the pan. Add half a tin of water and stir.

Bring to the boil, then turn the head down and simmer for 30 minutes with the lid on.

Check the curry regularly to make sure it's not drying out and add extra water if needed.

When the chicken is tender and cooked, taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary.

To serve your curry

Jamie suggests serving it with any of his fluffy rice recipes - I cooked mine in my Tupperware rice cooker and it worked a treat.

Add a few spoonfuls of natural yoghurt and sprinkle over the rest of the flaked almonds. Scatter the coriander leaved over the top and serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over.