Chicken & Cauliflower Curry

The recipe for this curry was entitled "North Indian Chicken Curry" by Anjum Anand, however, as I have no idea whether the inclusion of some cauliflower still renders it qualifying for the term "North Indian", I've left it off of the title.

I had had a break from making curries and we'd been sampling hubby's curry making skills (which are legendary).  However, I'd found myself hankering for another go, particularly a go where you build the curry flavour from scratch - as opposed to making use of a jar of curry paste.  The one challenge I had was to ensure the curry had a "curry" flavour - as opposed to being just a highly spiced casserole.

This curry certainly met that challenge and was downright jolly successful.  I served it with plain basmati rice, some Peshwari naans and a home-made raita.  I found the raita went together with the curry perfectly - the combined flavours were gorgeous and I'd definitely make a raita to go with it again.  Oh, and don't be scared of the four garlic cloves - you don't notice them!

So, here's the recipe :

CHICKEN & CAULIFLOWER CURRY

Ingredients :

4 tbsp oil
2 cloves
1 stick cinnamon, or 1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 green cardamom pods
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 medium onion, chopped
1.5 tbsp grated ginger
4 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
0.5 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp ground coriander
0.5 tsp chilli powder
4-5 tbsp tomato passata
500g chicken breast, diced large
5-6 cauliflower florets, sliced
1 handful coriander leaves, chopped.

Method :

1.  Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan until it is quite hot, but not smoking.  Add the cloves, cinnamon (if a stick), cardamom pods and cumin seeds and fry for about 20 seconds until aromatic.

2.  Add the onion and cook for around 10 minutes until golden brown, stirring often to prevent it burning.  Stir in the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, for 40 seconds before adding a pinch of salt and the ground spices (included cinnamon, if the ground variety) and stir for 15 seconds or so.

3.  Pour in the tomatoes and cook over a medium heat for around 10 minutes or until the liquid in the pan has dried off and the oil leaves the side of the dry masala.

4.  Add the chicken and brown (or white!) over a medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes.  Add the cauliflower and stir to make sure it is covered in sauce.  Add enough water to almost cover the chicken, bring to the boil and then cook over a low heat until the chicken is cooked through.  I cooked it with a lid for around half the cooking time, to ensure that the chicken and cauliflower cooked, then turned the heat up and reduced the sauce until it reached the consistency we prefer.  The slower it cooks, the better it tastes - so try not to rush it!

5.  Once you're happy with the consistency and the chicken and cauliflower are cooked and tender, mix in the coriander leaves and serve.

Delicious!