Vamsi’s Chicken Curry

Being British I am a huge fan of curries. Don’t get me wrong though, I am not your stereo typical Brit who insists on drinking 10 pints beforehand and then sets out to impress his mates buy eating the hottest curry available, usually a Phal if you ask nicely. 

That, to me, is just a waist and will be regretted the following day. To me it’s all about the different flavours that can be found in a curry.

So, a while back, I asked a good friend of mine, Vamsi Krishna Koganti from Tenali, Andhra Pradesh in Southern India, to share one of his curry recipes with me. We mutually decided that we would start off with a chicken curry specific to his region.

I just hope I to do Vamsi justice by sharing his chicken curry recipe here.

Right, here we go.

Ingredients

6 tables spoons of vegetable oil

2 large brown onions, chopped

2 tablespoons of puréed Garlic

2 tablespoons of puréed Ginger

3 tablespoons of plain Greek yoghurt

1 cinnamon stick (broken into small pieces)

2 stars of anise

8 cloves

Fresh chopped coriander

1 1/2 tablespoons of Red Chilli powder

2 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 tablespoons ground coriander

1 teaspoons ground cumin

1 fresh red chilli ( finely chopped)

1 bay leaf

2 cardamom pods

Water

Salt

Preparation

This dish requires that the chicken be marinated for a least two hours prior cooking.

To make the marinade cut the chicken into pieces, put in a bowl and add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, yoghurt, 1 tablespoon of chilli powder, ginger, garlic, ground coriander, ground cumin and 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric. Mix well and place in the fridge for at least two hours.

Whilst this is in the fridge chop the onions and fresh red chilli and store in preparation for the cooking later.

Cooking

Heat 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add the cinnamon stick, cloves, stars of anise, crushed cardamom pods, bay leaf and fry them for about two minutes. Just enough time for the natural oils in the spices to be released.

Add the chopped onions and fry for 5 minutes.

Add the chopped fresh chilli and 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric and fry for a further 10 min or until the onions and fresh chilli are soft.

Add the chicken and fry for 5 minutes.

Add about a cup to a cup & 1/2 of water, salt to taste and steam the chicken until cooked. Usually about 15 – 20 minutes. It doesn’t matter if too much water is added as this can be steamed off. You just need to adjust the cooking time to reflect that.

Note: This is best done in a pot rather than a frying pan.

 

After about 5 mins add one tablespoon of oil and 1/2 a tablespoon of chilli powder and stir through.

After a further 10 mins add the fresh coriander and stir through. Steam for a further 5 mins.

Dish out the dish and enjoy.

Finished Dish

 

Serve with rice and parota.

Enjoy!

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