India’s culinary gift to the world is hugely generous. For British Colonials stationed in the Raj, this must have been something of an epiphany – Even the most simple dishes can be a revelation of flavour. It is little wonder that Officers returning home pined for the exotic tastes they had experienced in the subcontinent, creating a new demand for spices, techniques and chefs. Britain had begun it’s love affair with curry - a relationship that soon gave birth to Anglo-Indian Cuisine, the renegade offspring who created dishes such as the infamous Chicken Tikka Masala.
Now, Curry is a broad term that encompasses a huge number of cookery styles and cultures. In the UK the term tends to be used to describe Indian food in general, as it is understood by the great majority of the population. That is, the Anglo-Indian take-away menu. Dishes such as Rogan Josh, Vindaloo, Korma and the like that bear little resemblance to authentic Indian cookery, but can be delicious when prepared well. And this is an important point – although not authentic, Anglo-Indian cookery has forged it’s own path into the hearts and stomachs of a nation because it often tastes fantastic. And now we have a new generation of hugely talented chefs, such as Atul Kochhar, re-introducing authentic elements and blending them with the best of the techniques developed in Britain to produce outstanding and original cuisine. Even the oldest Anglo-Indian restaurant in the UK, Veeraswamy, has adjusted its menu to reflect traditional regional Indian food as Britons start to discover a truer taste of India.
As you may have seen from the About page, I pretty much taught myself to cook by learning how to prepare Indian food. It’s a great way to start as, once you have a few basics down, it’s actually fairly simple to obtain excellent and satisfying results that will easily beat the average takeaway into a cocked-tandoor. The recipe below leans more towards traditional Punjabi food than the traditional takeaway, which is often made from a base “gravy”, adjusted slightly when reheated to change it into a variety of different dishes. When done well, that can be great, and I’ll show you how to do it another day.
For now, this is a very easy dish to make, and provides fantastic results for very little effort. It’s one of the best curry recipes I’ve come up with, so I hope you enjoy it. Don’t baulk at the long-ish list of spices – They last a while and are vital for making a good curry.
Spot the blasphemy!
So, what do you need?
- 6 chicken thighs, skin removed - you can use them whole with the bones in or, as I did, bone them and chop into three pieces each.
- 250g Spinach
- A punnet of Mushrooms, chopped
- 6 Tomatoes, quartered
- 3 large onions, sliced
- 1 head of garlic, crushed
- A few green chillis
- 1 inch knob Ginger, grated
- 1 tbsp Cumin
- 1 tbsp ground Coriander
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- 3 – 4 Black Cardamom Pods, lightly bashed
- 2 – 3 Bay leaves
- A few cloves
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 tsp Fenugreek Powder
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 1 tsp each salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat a little oil in a large pan and gently brown the onions. In a separate pan, gently fry the mushrooms until nicely cooked.
Once the onions are nice and golden, add the chicken and brown it for a few minutes. Add all your spices plus the garlic and ginger and stir well for a couple of minutes making sure everything is nice and coated. It should all smell delicious by know.
These guys are your friends
Add the tomatoes, the mushrooms and a pint of water. Take two of your chillis and slit them down one side with a knife. Drop them in and stir well. Bring to the boil, cover the pan, turn down the heat and simmer for about an hour. Check the pot every so often and stir.
Take the lid of the pot and turn the heat up again. Let the pot simmer well so the sauce reduces and thickens. Taste for seasoning and heat. If you feel it needs more, add some chopped chilli and stir in well. Taste again after a couple of minutes to check. Remember – it’s much easier to add heat than to take it away, so be careful!
Once the sauce has thickened nicely, wash the spinach in a colander, and add it to the curry. Cover and simmer for a couple of minutes, then stir well. Remove the bayleaves, cinnamon stick and cardamom pods and file them in the bin. Goodbye old friends – your work is done.
Serve on hot rice and garnish with freshly chopped coriander, with a glass or two of cold beer.
This will serve 2-3 people depending on the size of the chicken thighs, and tastes even better reheated the next day. You can adjust the flavour for the second batch by reducing the sauce even more and adding a little natural yoghurt and a sprinkling of Garam Masala.
28/03/2009 at 4:44 pm
You are amazing.