A Delicious Homemade Chicken Curry with Courgette, Fennel and Coriander...or with Courgette, Spinach and Cashew Nuts

I made this paste from of all sorts of larder loving ingredients, and the good thing about curry is that you can chop and change what goes into the paste as it will always taste delicious. This is easy peasy and scrumptious.

Ingredients (serves 4)

for the curry sauce -

1 tsp groundnut oil

1/2 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp vegetable oil

2 heaped tsp mango chutney

1 tsp curry paste (I use Patak's Korma paste)

3 cloves of garlic

1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated

2 tbsp peanut butter

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp ground ginger

a few slices of chilli

a few kaffir lime leaves or curry leaves

10 whole coriander seeds

seeds from 2 cardamon pods

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp turmeric

1 handful of fresh coriander, stalks included

salt and pepper

200g yoghurt

300ml chicken/vegetable stock (make 600g as you will need it for the rice)

for the rest of the curry -

4 chicken thighs, bones and skin removed, chopped - or - 4 chicken breasts, chopped

1 red onion, sliced

1 courgette, chopped

half a fennel bulb, sliced (optional)

for the rice - 

1 cup basmati rice

1 red onion, sliced

half a chilli, to taste

3 tsp turmeric

3 tsp curry powder

6 whole cardamon pods

10 whole coriander seeds

2 cm piece of ginger, grated

enough chicken or vegetable stock to just about cover the rice (roughly 200-300g)

1. Place all the ingredients for the curry paste/sauce, except the yoghurt and stock, in a mixing bowl and grind up using a hand blender or food processor. Once it resembles a smooth paste, mix in the yoghurt to form a yellow sauce and add the cut up chicken. You can either marinade the chicken in the sauce for a while in the fridge, or cook it straight away.

2. Fry the onions in a little vegetable oil, then add the saucy chicken. Gradually add the stock so that the mixture doesn't stick and stays juicy. Cook the chicken for about 8 minutes before adding the chopped courgette and fennel. 

3. Now start making the rice. Add the onion, chilli and ginger to a frying pan with a little vegetable oil and fry for a minute or so. Then add all the remaining ingredients for the rice. Cover the pan with a lid, bring to the boil and then turn the heat down to very low. The rice should take roughly 10-12 minutes, by which time the chicken curry should be cooked.