One of my friends happened to mention that she loves Indian food and, since she was visiting, a proper curry seemed in order. I served these with yogurt flatbreads and we certainly managed to make inroads on the vat of curry that came out of this recipe which, quite frankly, would have been just as good without the chicken!
Serves eight people rather than my usual one, but freezes well.
2 lbs chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
8 cups assorted vegetables, cut into bite-sized pieces (I used yellow squash, orange carrots, Delicata squash, sweet potato, white corn from this summer's freezer batch, yellow cauliflower and chickpeas)
1 white onion, peeled and cut into half moons
1 can full-fat coconut milk
3 cups chicken stock
1 Tbsp curry powder
2 tsps Garam Masala
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger root
1 red chili pepper, whole but pricked in several places (skip if using hot curry powder like Kashmiri)
2 tsps turmeric
1 bay leaf
6 fresh curry leaves (optional)
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
Salt to taste
Heat the oil over medium-low heat in a large stock pot. As soon as it shimmers, add the curry powder, ginger, turmeric, bay, curry leaves (if using) and chili pepper. Stir to coat in the oil and cook, stirring constantly until the spices are fragrant.
Add the onions and some salt to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are starting to soften and turn translucent, a couple of minutes.
Tip in the chicken pieces, the Garam Masala and some salt. Stir to combine with the spiced onion mixture and cook for a few minutes before adding all of the vegetables except for the yellow squash and the corn which take less time to cook.
Add the coconut milk and the stock. Cover, lower the heat and let simmer for about half an hour. Taste the sauce for salt and heat, remove the chili pepper if the mixture is spicy enough. If not leave in until it is time to serve.
Add the corn and yellow squash, stir to combine and cook for an additional ten minutes before serving.
Definitely serve with mango chutney or, as I did, with unsweetened coconut, chopped peanuts, coriander and banana to sprinkle over the top.