I absolutely love Indian food, as it has so many different spices and there are so many regional variations in the cuisine.
This dish is prepared more in a southern style as it has coconut milk. Experiment with the level of heat, by reducing the number of chilies or by seeding them. When working with chilies it is important to remember to wash your hands with soap and water, before you continue cooking.
The heat and the oils are in the seeds and even more so in the inner membrane, so you can remove these to reduce the heat, but you need to use care as it’s easy to forget and rub your eyes and I can assure you if you do this and get these irritant oils in your eyes, you won’t forget a second time. I speak from personal experience!
This is definitely one of my favorite curries and I like it because it can be made relatively quickly. The key to this dish is to have all of your ingredients arranged, so you aren’t scrambling around the kitchen trying to find things once you have begun cooking. I find this works very well with a wok or karahi, but feel free to use what suits you.
Ingredients
1 lb Chicken Breasts or Thighs, cut into 1 ½ inch cubes
3 Tbsp Vegetable oil
4 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped, crushed or mashed with a mortar and pestle
2 inch pieces of fresh Ginger root, finely chopped, grated or mashed with a mortar and pestle
1 large Onion, sliced very thinly. A mandoline is very handy for this.
2-4 Thai Chilies, seeds removed if you don’t want it too hot.
1 tsp of Turmeric powder
2 Tbsp of prepared Curry Paste. Pataks is very good
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp of Garam Masala
1 red Pepper, cut into cubes to match the size of chicken pieces
10 cherry Tomatoes cut in half
½ cup of Coconut Milk, more if needed once you begin cooking
Fresh Coriander, chopped. About ¼ cup.
Heat your wok/pan and then add garlic, ginger and sauté for about 1 minute, add your chilies, and do not let it brown or burn. Add your onion and cook until the onion is well caramelized.
Add your turmeric; curry paste and quickly sauté, again not letting it brown. Now add the chicken and sauté just until the chicken has turned white.
Add the tomatoes, red pepper and garam masala, salt and stir well. Add the coconut milk and let it simmer for approx. 10 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked. If the mixture becomes too thick add a little bit of the coconut milk to keep a medium thickness sauce.
Just before serving stir in the fresh coriander and then serve immediately with basmati rice.
The Louisville Chef 