Jaisene’s Chicken Curry Recipe
Eagle Brae is owned by Mike and Pawana, and they are no stranger to great home-cooked food, foraging and eco-living. So, it’s only natural that they want to share a slice of our home comforts with you. As such, whilst holidaying with us, we offer a range of delicious homecooked meals for you to enjoy in your cabin, specially prepared for you. This particular recipe is one of Pawana’s family’s favourite chicken curry recipes. We call it “Jaisene’s Chicken Curry” as Jaisene is Pawana’s nickname here.
As with many stews and curries, our Jaisene’s chicken curry recipe tastes even better on day 2. So, if you are making it to eat with guests feel free to prepare it the day before and just reheat as required.
Chef’s tip: If you would like your Jaisene’s chicken curry to be eaten with chapatis rather than rice, then it’s best to make the sauce thicker by using less chicken stock and coconut milk.
Ingredients (feeds 4)
- Boneless Diced Chicken (600g of breast and thighs)
- Tomatoes (8 pcs, chopped finely)
- Red Onion (1 large, chopped finely)
- Garlic (6 cloves, crushed)
- Chilli flakes (1/2 tsp)
- Ginger (half a thumb’s worth, chopped very finely)
- Chicken Stock (half a litre)
- Coconut milk (1 creamed coconut block)
- Cumin (half tbsp)
- Turmeric (2 tsp)
- Coriander seeds (half tbsp)
- Garam Masala (2 tsp)
- Olive Oil (3 tbsp)
- Salt (to taste)
- Black Pepper (half tsp)
- Dried whole Tej pata leaves (2)
Method
Preparing The Chicken
The first job is to brown your chicken. This should be done as quickly as possible over high heat. Use your largest non-stick frying pan and heat the oil on full heat. Throw in the chicken slices and brown in small batches, removing each to a separate dish with a lid to keep it moist and warm once browned.
Do not put too much chicken in the pan at once or the pan will become crowded, the temperature will drop too low and the chicken will leach its juiciness, which you don’t want! Once browned, turn the pan heat down in preparation for the next step.
Making The Chicken Curry (torka) Sauce
The curry sauce is the most important part of most curries, and it’s no different for our Eagle Brae’s Jaisene’s chicken curry! Using the same pan and the oil from cooking the chicken, gently fry your onions, chilli and ginger. After 10 mins when the onions are golden and softening, add the garlic. Fry on gently for another few minutes so as not to burn the garlic.
Now it’s time to add all your ground spices and the garam masala together (this is an important part of the cooking – do not burn the dry spices). Fry for another 2 minutes stirring continuously.
Finally, add your tomatoes and gently cook with the lid on for 5/10 minutes or so until all tomatoes are softened and losing their form (you can use a potato masher to help this process along!). You must fry your tomatoes on low heat and for long enough for them to be fully cooked and become and fully assimilated sauce.
The Best Chicken Curry Final Stage
Top Tips: Keep stirring the torka. Do not let it burn. Cook it on low heat.
Meanwhile, it’s time to prepare your coconut milk. To do this, cut the coconut block into small pieces (dice sized cubes) and add 400ml of boiling water and stir until it all dissolves into a thick creamy coconut milk. Add the coconut milk and tej pata leaves to your sauce, stir well and then add some of the chicken stock. Do not add all the stock at once as you don’t want your chicken curry to be too runny. Only add enough for your preferred consistency. Add salt as required. Finally, add your chicken to the sauce and cook for another 20 minutes on low heat.
We serve this top curry recipe on a steaming bed of basmati rice with chopped coriander, yoghurt, Indian pickle… and fresh green chillies for those who like them.
For more delicious Eagle Brae dishes, see our other home-cooked recipes.