Coconut chicken curry with basmati rice

Name: Coconut chicken curry with basmati rice
Prep time: 35 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: world favourites
Ingredients: 420 g Boneless skinless chicken thighs (pargiyot) (4 whole chicken thighs, or halved by the butcher); 160 g Basmati rice (80 g dry rice per person); 400 g Unsweetened coconut milk (The whole tin, unsweetened cooking coconut milk with about 18% fat); 250 g Tinned chopped tomatoes (400 g tin) (A little over half a tin, with its juice); 150 g Yellow onions (1 large onion, finely chopped); 15 g Garlic (3 cloves, grated); 20 g Fresh ginger (A 4 cm piece, peeled with a spoon and grated); 15 g Hot green chillies (1 chilli, split lengthways); 30 g Sunflower oil, for frying or as a neutral oil (3 very generous tbsp); 0.3 g Dried bay leaves (1 leaf); 0.3 g Cloves (3 cloves); 1 g Green cardamom pods (4 pods, crushed with the flat of a knife); 3 g Ground cumin (1 tsp); 4 g Ground coriander (2 tsp); 2 g Turmeric (2/3 tsp: half for the marinade, half for the sauce); 2 g Cinnamon sticks (A 3 cm piece of cinnamon stick); 1 g Hot red chilli powder (1 large pinch; 2.5 g (1 tsp) for a hot curry); 3 g Garam masala (1 tsp, added at the end); 9 g Fine salt (1 1/2 tsp: 2 g on the chicken, 4 g in the sauce, 3 g in the rice water); 280 g Water (For the rice); 120 g Lemon (1 lemon: half the juice for the marinade, the other half at serving time); 10 g Fresh coriander (A few sprigs, washed and checked)

meat main dish · world favourites · 3/5 · medium · 70 min, including 35 hands-on

Chicken thighs marinated with turmeric and lemon, simmered in a sauce of deeply golden onion, tomato and coconut milk, scented with whole spices sizzled in oil; served with soaked basmati rice with separate grains.

Ingredients for two

420 g	Boneless skinless chicken thighs (pargiyot) 4 whole chicken thighs, or halved by the butcher
160 g	Basmati rice 80 g dry rice per person
400 g	Unsweetened coconut milk The whole tin, unsweetened cooking coconut milk with about 18% fat
250 g	Tinned chopped tomatoes (400 g tin) A little over half a tin, with its juice
150 g	Yellow onions 1 large onion, finely chopped
15 g	Garlic 3 cloves, grated
20 g	Fresh ginger A 4 cm piece, peeled with a spoon and grated
15 g	Hot green chillies 1 chilli, split lengthways
30 g	Sunflower oil, for frying or as a neutral oil 3 very generous tbsp
0.3 g	Dried bay leaves 1 leaf
0.3 g	Cloves 3 cloves
1 g	Green cardamom pods 4 pods, crushed with the flat of a knife
3 g	Ground cumin 1 tsp
4 g	Ground coriander 2 tsp
2 g	Turmeric 2/3 tsp: half for the marinade, half for the sauce
2 g	Cinnamon sticks A 3 cm piece of cinnamon stick
1 g	Hot red chilli powder 1 large pinch; 2.5 g (1 tsp) for a hot curry
3 g	Garam masala 1 tsp, added at the end
9 g	Fine salt 1 1/2 tsp: 2 g on the chicken, 4 g in the sauce, 3 g in the rice water
280 g	Water For the rice
120 g	Lemon 1 lemon: half the juice for the marinade, the other half at serving time
10 g	Fresh coriander A few sprigs, washed and checked

Method

Prepare the ingredients. Rinse the rice in plenty of water in a bowl, rubbing it between your fingers, 3 or 4 times until the water stays clear, then cover with cold water and soak for 20 minutes. Squeeze the lemon. Mix the chicken with 2 g salt, 1 g turmeric and half the lemon juice; marinate while preparing the sauce base (20–25 minutes). Finely chop the onion, grate the garlic and the ginger peeled with a spoon, split the green chilli lengthways, crush the cardamom pods and chop the coriander.
Heat the oil in a 26 cm sauté pan over a medium heat. Add the bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom: let them sizzle and release their aroma for 30 seconds. Add the onion and brown for 12–15 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes: it should be deeply golden with hazelnut-brown edges, without blackening. If it colours too quickly at first, lower the heat a little.
Add the garlic, ginger and green chilli and stir for 1 minute. Add the cumin, ground coriander, remaining turmeric and ground chilli; stir for 30 seconds without letting them burn, then add the tomato. Cook for 7–8 minutes, stirring often and scraping the bottom: the tomato thickens into a dark, glossy paste that comes away from the bottom when pushed with a spoon, with beads of oil at the edges.
Increase the heat to medium-high, add the chicken and its marinade and turn in the paste for 3–4 minutes until white on all sides. Pour in the whole tin of coconut milk, add 4 g salt, scrape the bottom and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently, uncovered, for 25 minutes, turning the pieces and stirring the bottom every 5 minutes; never let it boil vigorously or the coconut milk will split.
As soon as the simmering starts, drain the soaked rice and put in an 18 cm saucepan with 280 g water and 3 g salt. Bring to the boil, cover and cook over the lowest heat for 12 minutes, then rest off the heat for 10 minutes without lifting the lid: the water should be absorbed, with little holes on the surface.
Cut the largest chicken piece in half: the flesh should be white to the centre and break apart under a fork. The sauce should coat a spoon; if too thin, lift out the chicken and reduce over a medium heat for 3–5 minutes; if it sticks or becomes pasty, add 50 g hot water. Add the garam masala, return the chicken and cook for 1 minute. Taste and adjust the salt: the sauce should be boldly seasoned, as the rice will soften its flavour.
Off the heat, remove the bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves and, for a mild curry, the green chilli. Add the remaining lemon juice and chopped coriander. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve with the curry in two deep plates.

Lighter version

Unsweetened coconut milk : 200 g
Sunflower oil, for frying or as a neutral oil : 20 g
Basmati rice : 120 g
Water : 310 g
Fine salt : 8 g
add Fresh spinach 150 g (Half a bunch, leaves only)

At step 2, brown the onion over a medium-low heat, stirring more often: with 20 g oil, it sticks more readily.

At step 4, pour in 200 g coconut milk and 100 g water instead of the whole tin.

At step 5, cook 120 g rice in 210 g water with 2 g salt.

At step 6, add the spinach leaves with the garam masala and cook, covered, for 5 minutes until wilted; return the chicken and finish in the same way.

Half the coconut milk, a third less oil, 60 g rice per person and spinach wilted into the sauce: a lighter sauce with the same golden onion and spice base. Freeze the remaining coconut milk.

On your plate

Recipe

1158 kcal · protein 56 g · carbs 84 g · fat 64 g

Quantities per person

210 g Boneless skinless chicken thighs (pargiyot)
80 g Basmati rice
200 g Unsweetened coconut milk
125 g Tinned chopped tomatoes (400 g tin)
75 g Yellow onions
7.5 g Garlic
10 g Fresh ginger
7.5 g Hot green chillies
15 g Sunflower oil, for frying or as a neutral oil
0.15 g Dried bay leaves
0.15 g Cloves
0.5 g Green cardamom pods
1.5 g Ground cumin
2 g Ground coriander
1 g Turmeric
1 g Cinnamon sticks
0.5 g Hot red chilli powder
1.5 g Garam masala
4.5 g Fine salt
140 g Water
60 g Lemon
5 g Fresh coriander

Cooking tips

The depth of flavour comes from browning the onion to hazelnut colour and cooking the tomato to a paste until oil beads at the edges: do not shorten these two stages. Choose unsweetened pareve coconut milk and certified gluten-free garam masala. The chicken can marinate in the fridge from the morning. For a hotter curry, leave in the green chilli and increase the ground chilli to 2.5 g. Freeze the remaining 150 g tomato in a container for the next curry or dal base. The curry keeps for 2 days in the fridge after rapid cooling and tastes even better reheated; cook the rice fresh for serving.

Equipment : 26 cm sauté pan, 18 cm saucepan with a lid, Mixing bowl, Fine grater

North Indian family chicken curry (murgh masala) with tomato and coconut milk; salt, turmeric and lemon replace the yoghurt marinade for a meat meal.

Coconut chicken curry with basmati rice

Method

On your plate

Recipe

Cooking tips

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