Let us point out from the off that this is not a recipe for people watching their diet – the amount of ghee used here may seem over the top, and of course you can use less if you like, but to us the whole point is the excess! It’s important to use the best quality chicken you can get; the recipe uses corn-fed chicken fillets, but equally you can get your butcher to chop up your chicken and do it on the bone. This is not a ‘hot’ curry, but if you like a bit of fire it’s fine to add some more chilli powder. Finally, the onion in the recipe needs to be very finely chopped to get a nice smooth sauce – a good way if you have a food processor is to chuck in the onion and give it a quick blitz. The recipe serves two hungry people, or three to four if the dish is included in a selection of curries.

01.

Ingredients

2 Corn Fed, Free Range Chicken Breast Fillets
3 tbs Yoghurt
1 tbs Lemon Juice
2tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1 Onion, very finely chopped
3tsp Garlic/Ginger puree
2 Tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tbs Curry Leaves
1 tsp Jaggery
1 dried Kashmiri chilli
4 tsp Kerala Curry Blend
4 tbs Ghee

02.

Method

First chop the chicken breast into large chunks. Combine the yoghurt, turmeric, paprika, chilli powder and lemon juice, and marinate the chicken in this mixture for a couple of hours.
Heat a heavy pan and add the ghee. When it is hot, add the curry leaves and the Kashmiri chilli and heat till they crackle. When they do, add the onion, the garlic/ginger paste and the tomato, and fry gently for 15-20 mins. Now turn the heat down and add the marinated chicken. Cook this until the chicken has coloured and become firm.
Next add the Kerala curry blend, the jaggery and salt to taste. Keep on cooking this until the smell of the spices rise from the pan, then add a tablespoon or two of water (it is difficult to be exact, but you don’t want too much water in the dish).
Finally allow the curry to cook until the ghee separates out, 30-40 minutes. Serve with a few veggie side dishes, plus rice and/or naan bread.