Spicy Chicken Curry

As hard as it seems to believe, Chicken curry is very versatile. A lot of people know of only one type of chicken curry and have been eating that same one for years. The truth is that there are so many different types of chicken curry, some with a tomato and onion gravy, some with a yogurt gravy, some with coconut, some with curry leaves, some without garam masala (whole indian spices), some with milled nuts, some with very few spices, some with a LONG list of spices just to name a few.

Like I mentioned, there are many different types of curries with different preparations, but excepting a few, all chicken curries have the same fundamental ingredients; onions, ginger, garlic, whole spices, cumin and coriander.

I hope to share many different chicken curry recipes with you in the future but today let's start with the plain and simple everyday chicken curry with a tomato and onion gravy.

Ingredients
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 whole chicken cut into bite-sized pieces
2 medium onions
11/2 medium tomatoes chopped
1 tbsp each ginger and garlic paste
3 cardamom pods
1 inch piece cinnamon
2 cloves
3 peppercorns
1 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp chilli powder or to taste
3 cups water
salt to taste

Method
1) In a large pot, heat the oil and drop in the onions, whole spices and salt
2) When the onion browns, add the tomatoes and cook them on a medium heat until they become pulpy.
3) Cook the tomato mixture down until the oil starts to separate.
4) Once you see the oil floating to the top, turn up the heat and add the dry spices along with 1/4 cup of water and cook stirring constantly for a few minutes.
5) Add the washed and trimmed chicken pieces to the pot and keep stirring until there are no more pink spots visible on the chicken.
6) Turn the heat back to medium, pour in 1 cup water and cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7) After 15 minutes, add an additional 1/2 cup water and cook for 5 minutes more.
8) Turn the heat back on high and add the remainder of the water and wait till it comes to a rolling boil.
9) Your chicken curry is now ready to serve! Serve with rice or chappatti (indian flat bread)

Happy Cooking!