Throwback Thursday - who else loves a good curry?

Although I am not eating meat at the moment, as I'm doing a #veggie and #vegan month, I thought Throwback Thursday #TBT would be a good opportunity to share a recipe that I have done many, many times in the past.

This is my faithful go-to curry recipe, Indian Garlic and Black Pepper Curry. I've made it so many times now that I don't even have to look up the recipe!

First off I have to thank Olive for this one (note: the photos here are ones I took whilst cooking this on the 8th March 2019, hence #TBT).

This is one of my go too curries these days and one of my husbands favourites. Each time I make it I adapt the amount of black pepper depending on who is joining us. It's amazing that just adding half a tablespoon more of the black pepper can turn this into an extremely 'hot' curry! So it is worth experimenting to find your own thresholds, however as a guide here is what I use:

1 tablespoon - for mild

1.5 - 2 tablespoons - for medium hot

2 - 3 tablespoons - hot (needs to be dished out with a caution!)

Normally when I am making this for just for my husband and me, I opt for 1.5 tablespoons. When we have guests I have normally play it safe and opt for just 1 tablespoon.

If you like curries, this really is worth a try. I'm tempted to try it without the meat for a vegetarian option (perhaps with tofu or jackfruit). If I do, I'll let you know how it turns out.

#chicken #curry #spices #mainmeal #indian #familyfavourite

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SERVES 4 PREP 20 MINS COOK 55 MINS (plus marinating)

Ingredients:

900g of either boneless chicken thighs or chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces

2 large onions, finely sliced (this sounds a lot but stick with it!)

4 cloves of garlic crushed

50g of ginger, finely grated

400ml can of coconut milk

Small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped

Marinade:

1-3 tablespoons of black peppercorns (see my notes above re: how hot you like your curry)

2 tbsp cumin seeds

2 tbsp coriander seeds

coconut oil

50g of fresh turmeric, finely grated, or 1 tbsp ground turmeric (I normally use ground)

Juice of 1 lemon

Method:

For the marinade:

• Add the peppercorns, cumin and coriander seeds to a small frying pan over a medium-heat. Toast for a minute until they begin to smell fragrant.

• Tip them into a spice mill or mortar and roughly grind.

• Put the spices into a bowl and add 1 tbsp of coconut oil.

• Add the turmeric along with the juice of half of the lemon (save the other half for later) and stir into a paste (I often have to add a splash of water at this stage too).

• Add the chicken pieces to the spice paste and mix well.

• Cover and chill for a few hours or overnight.

Ready to cook:

Heat a deep frying pan (I use my wok) over a medium to low heat and add 1 tbsp of coconut oil.

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Add the onion, garlic and ginger and fry gently for 15-20 minutes until soft and lightly golden (I tend to reduce the cooking time for this part to around 10 - 15 minutes).

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Turn up the heat and add the chicken and marinade. Season and stir-fry for 10 minutes.

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Pour in the coconut milk, bring to the boil and simmer gently for another 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked.

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If you prefer a drier curry simply simmer for another 10-15 minutes until the sauce is a consistency that you like.

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Turn off the heat and stir through the remaining lemon juice.

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Enjoy with a scattering of coriander over the top and some rice and naan!