How to make Chicken Curry

Curry derives from the Dravidian word "Kari" and means "vegetable in sauce" or "sauce". In recent times Curry is broadly used to refer to any spicy dish cooked in the South Asian and Southeast Asian style of cooking.

Here we have chicken curry hopefully cooked the classic Indian way.

Ingredients:
1 chicken 2kg (4 lb)
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups desiccated coconut
3 medium sized onions, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon fresh root ginger, very finely chopped
3 tablespoons ghee, butter or oil
1 tablespoon curry powder
3 medium sized tomatoes, peeled and chopped
Salt to taste


Procedure:
Disjoint chicken and cut into small serving pieces.

Heat milk, add coconut, leave for 15 minutes to cool, and pour into a bowl through a sieve, kneading the coconut to extract all the liquid.

Gently fry the onions, garlic and ginger in the butter, ghee or oil until onions have softened and are lightly tinted. Add the curry powder, stir over low heat for 2-3 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, coconut milk and salt, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add chicken, cover and continue simmering for 45 minutes to one hour, or more until chicken is tender.

Serve with rice.

Suggestion:
I find chicken curry more tasty the next day after reheating it. That's because the chicken absorbs more of the sauce overnight.

About Ghee
Traditionally ghee is butter produced from the milk of buffalo indigenous to the Indian subcontinent, although the process of preparation si different. If you can't find one at a local store or ethnic market, butter is fine, or cooking oil.