I want a takeaway! No 1 - Sunny's (legendary) Chicken Curry

I love curry. I cant get enough of it. There's nothing quite like the taste of a creamy korma or tasty bhuna. Although I now have dishes that are Slimming World friendly, (dhansaks and rogans are not too bad, syns wise) I cant really afford to be having them as often as I really would like.

I bought the cook book, Gizzi's Kitchen Magic quite a while ago now. I bought it for the cakes and puddings to be totally honest. Then I came across this chicken curry recipe on page 95. I glanced over the ingredients and there wasn't anything I couldn't get hold of quite easily and thought I'd give it a go. I cant tell you how pleased I am. I love it. There's no cream so its not a creamy curry. A bit like a rogan josh, its like a nice, mild, winter warming, full of flavour sort of stew. It IS a little time consuming so, best to save this one for the weekend but my word it is worth it. Gizzi also recommends serving it a day or two afterwards for the full flavour. Yes it does make it even better (I always make some extra for a tasty syn free lunch the next day) but to be honest, once its cooked, I can't keep away.

The recipe does include some butter but I have tried making it without any or just using some fry light and it made no difference to its flavour. (I've made it alot) If like me, your'e a bit of a curry head, give it a go. You wont be disappointed.

Serves 4
Preparation time 20 minutes
Cooking time 1 hour, 20 minutes
Syns 1 for the butter per serving if you use it, otherwise free on EE

2 tablespoons of ghee (regular butter would be fine, I dont use either to keep it SW friendly)
2 to 3 large onions, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt (I use regular salt)
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
4-6 garlic cloves peeled and crushed, depending on how much you like
3cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
1-2 green chillies finely chopped (depending on how hot you like your curry. I must admit I juse use a small amount of chilli paste or in a jar. Whatever I have in the cupboard)
1 tablespoon tumeric
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon of chilli powder
1 teaspoon madras curry powder
200g tinned chopped tomatoes (I have heard somewhere that the cheaper the tin, the better when it comes to curry.)
8 chicken thighs, on the bone, skin removed
500ml chicken stock or water
a good handful of fresh coriander, chopped (optional I would say. I personally love it, but always forget to buy it)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (again, I use what Ive got already!)

Fill your kettle to the top and bring it to the boil. Heat the ghee or butter if you are using it, in a large pan. Add onions to the pan and fry for about 5 minutes until golden. Add the salt and cumin seeds and toast for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic, chillies and ginger and cook for 3 more minutes.

Turn up the heat, and add enough boiling water to cover the onions. Simmer slowly, occasionally stirring, until the water has reduced almost completely  making sure it doesn't burn. Keep adding water for about 10-15 minutes until the onions become mushy (for me, this is normally about three times). You are looking to make this into a paste, so do use a potato masher to help.

Turn the heat down to a medium, add some more water covering the paste, then add all the spices and stir. Cover the pan and let it simmer for up to 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes. Once they're stirred in, it should look like a thick soup. If it still has alot of water in it, let it reduce some more.

Add the chicken and give it all a good stir. Pour in the stock or water, making sure it covers the chicken and leave on a low heat for 40 minutes. Make sure you stir it now and again.

Finally stir in the coriander and add a little salt and pepper if needed. I serve it with plain boiled rice.

To buy Gizzi's Kitchen Magic, click here

Love, The Synful Baker x