Chicken Ceylon Curry

One of the best parts of catering food for a living is that I get to cook and eat a lot of delicacies, which I wouldn’t bother to make for myself on an ordinary basis. Last week, I got an order for Chicken Ceylon Curry and was thrilled to bits, because such few people order Anglo-Indian food. This is a wonderful change from the usual chicken curry. It’s tangy and coconut-y and delicious with rice and extremely easy to cook.

CHICKEN CEYLON CURRY

• 1 kg chicken on the bone (do not use boneless chicken because the bones will impart their own flavour, I tend to use chicken legs and thighs)
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon grated garlic
• 4 slit green chilis
• 1 onion sliced
• 8 to 10 curry leaves
• 250 ml coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 tablespoons tamarind paste
• 1 teaspoon methi/ fenugreek seeds
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground garam masala powder

Process

• Place a pan on the gas. Add the chicken, ginger, garlic, green chilis, sliced onion, curry leaves, coconut milk, pepper, coriander-chili-cumin-turmeric powders, salt and tamarind paste. Stir, cover and cook on low heat. No oil is to be added at this stage.
• After the chicken is almost fully cooked, say for 15-20 minutes, check seasoning.
• Then take a smaller pan, add the vegetable oil and add the chopped onion and the methi seeds. And cook till the onion is brown. Then add the oil and the onions and the methi into the pan with the chicken and stir well.
• Cook for 3 to 5 more minutes.  Add the garam masala, stir well and take off the gas.
• Eat.