Rezika's Chicken & Vegetable Curry

Total Time: 2 hrs 10 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 4 large brown onions, peeled & finely sliced
• 1 head garlic, peeled
• 6 pieces chicken (thighs, drumsticks, breast etc)
• 2 large potatoes, peeled
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 3 inches piece fresh gingerroot, peeled
• 800 g tinned plum tomatoes (2 x 400g tins)
• 400 g canned chick-peas
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 3 -4 teaspoons mild madras curry powder
• 6 -7 cups water
• salt and black pepper
• 1 bunch fresh coriander
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Recipe

• 1 put the olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pan, add the onions & cook on a medium heat until they are golden & translucent.
• 2 add the turmeric & curry powder to the pan, followed by the chicken pieces - cook until the chicken is sealed on all sides.
• 3 in a food processor, make a paste from the ginger & garlic. once you have made a smooth paste, add it to the pan & mix well. cook for 2 minutes.
• 4 liquidize the tinned tomatoes & add them to the pan along with the water. cover & simmer on a medium heat for 90 minutes - check & stir from time to time - add any extra water if you think it needs it. add the salt & black pepper.
• 5 after 90 minutes, rinse & drain the chickpeas & add them to the pan. chop the potatoes into cubes approximately 1cm x1cm & add them to the pan.
• 6 cover & simmer again for 20 minutes.
• 7 take your bunch of coriander. remove 6 large leaves & set aside for your garnish. roughly chop the remainder.
• 8 after 20 minutes cooking, add the frozen peas & 2 tbsp chopped coriander. cook for 5 minutes.
• 9 at this point, the veggies & the chickpeas should be tender. if you would like a thicker sauce, turn up the heat & reduce the sauce - stirring to avoid the curry catching on the bottom of the pan. if you would like more sauce, just add a little stock & a touch more seasoning & curry powder.
• 10 if you've used bone-in chicken pieces, you may wish to remove the bones now.
• 11 check the seasoning, adjust if necessary, just before serving add the remainder of the coriander & mix well.
• 12 you can also add a teaspoon of freshly ground garam masala at this point if you wish - i generally don't bother though --
• 13 my family loves to eat this curry with either basmati rice or freshly made naan & pitta breads, pakoras & poppadoms. i also serve a light cucumber raita & a mixed green salad.