Chicken Madras

Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 1 red chilli
• 2 tsp ginger paste (2)
• 2 tsp garlic paste (2)
• 2 tbsp ghee or oil
• 500 g chicken thighs (1)
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp hot chilli powder (3)
• 4 cardamon pods
• 400 g can chopped tomatoes (4)
• 1 tbsp tomato puree / paste
• coriander / cilantro
• 1 tbsp butter

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the onion and chilli Onion – peel, top, tail and cut into four quartersChilli – chop in half

2. 2

   Add onion, chilli, and ginger and garlic paste to a small food processor or mini chopper. Pulse / whizz to chop finely or to a paste as your machine allows.

3. 3

   Use a good heavy (but not necessarily expensive) frying pan / skillet, which is non stick and has a well fitting lid. Anything between 23-28cm (9-11 inch) is perfect.Melt the ghee over a medium heat, add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli paste and fry, for a few minutes, stirring all the time until it starts to turn golden and is fragrant.

4. 4

   Add the remaining spices and fry for another few minutes, until everything is a deep golden and is fragrant

5. 5

   Whilst the spices are cooking prepare the chicken thighs. If needed remove the skin and bone and then cut the meat into bite sized pieces while the spices are cooking. I find a sharp pair of kitchen scissors is the easiest way to do this.

6. 6

   Stir in the chicken pieces and fry for another few minutes until they chicken is no longer pink on the outside, and is coated in the spices.

7. 7

   Add the canned tomatoes and tomato puree and stir through. Cover with the lid and allow to simmer on the lowest heat for about 20 minutes, stirring from time to time.

8. 8

   Check the curry, remove any cardamon pods which have floated to the top, taste and add a little salt to taste. If needed cook for another 10 minutes with the lid ajar to reduce and thicken the sauce.

9. 9

   At the end of cooking I like to stir through a knob of butter to make the sauce richer, and to help meld the spices, it makes a big difference to the final dish elevating it to restaurant quality.

10. 10

    Serve garnished with chopped coriander the rest of the chilli sliced.