Quick Indian Chicken Curry

I love Indian food, but I don't cook it myself much. It just seems so complicated, and I barely know where to begin... however, I got a huge book from Workman Publishing, titled "660 Curries". 660?? Really? You're joking? No. I'm not. The book is huge. It's thicker than a bible. And to tell you the truth, it's more than a little bit overwhelming. It's not exactly like you can cook your way through it. (At least I don't want to undertake something that enormous of a task!) So, where to begin..? I paged through it quite randomly until I happened upon this recipe (which is slightly adapted, as always) for a fast and easy creamy chicken curry. It sounded good. And it was good. Really, really good. 

For anyone who loves to cook Indian food - get the book. If you just love to eat it? Well, at least try this curry. And a helpful tip: count the amount of cloves and cardamom pods that you add in, so that you can fish them back out before serving. Biting into a whole clove is not extremely pleasant, in my opinion...

Quick Indian Chicken Curry

Serves 4

2 tbsp neutral oil

10 whole cloves

10 whole cardamom pods

2 bay leaves

2 cinnamon sticks

4 garlic cloves, minced

fresh ginger, a thumbsized piece, finely minced

2 tomatoes, coarsely diced

3 tsp garam masala

2 tsp flaky sea salt

150-200 ml water

900 g chicken thighs or breasts, no skin or bones, bite-sized

100 ml cream

fresh coriander

toasted cashew nuts

Heat the oil in a large pan, and fry cloves, cardamom, bay leaves and cinnamon for a few seconds, until they start to release their aromas. Add ginger and garlic, and fry, constantly stirring, for a minute. Add the tomatoes, and stir well. 

Add garam masala, salt and water, and then the chicken. Bring everything to a boil, and cover with a lid. Lower the heat to medium, and cook for about 15 minutes or until the chicken is done. Fish out the whole spices you used at the beginning. Add the cream. Serve with rice, fresh coriander and toasted cashews.