There's bags of flavour here, but check the timings - it's probably more suited to a night when you've got a bit of time on your hands and are cooking indoors, rather than one of those nights when the speed of a wok meal could serve you better.
Cashew-nut curry paste
3 Tbsp | Canola oil, or use peanut oil |
2 | Onions, large, finely sliced |
½ cup | Roasted cashew nuts, salted |
6 | Garlic cloves, halved |
1 cup | Fresh coriander, loosely packed |
1 cup | Mint leaves, loosely packed |
4 | Green chillies, coarsely chopped |
Curry
50 g | Tamarind pulp |
3 Tbsp | Canola oil, or use peanut oil |
1 Tbsp | Fresh ginger, peeled and grated |
2 | Green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped |
1 kg | Boneless chicken thigh, rinsed, patted dry and halved (Main) |
1 tsp | Salt |
1 to serve | Natural yoghurt |
1 to serve | Red chilli, sliced |
1 to serve | Fresh coriander, chopped |
1 to serve | Mint leaves, chopped |
Directions
- To make the cashew nut paste, fry onions gently in 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium-sized frying pan for 40-45 minutes until they caramelise; stir often, especially towards the end of cooking time. While the onions are cooking, soak the cashew nuts in warm water to soften for 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
- Fry garlic cloves in a small pan in 1 tablespoon of oil for a few minutes until lightly coloured. Transfer to a food processor with the cashew nuts, onions, coriander, mint and chillies and process to a paste.
- To make the curry, put tamarind pulp in a small bowl and pour in 1/2 cup hot water. Leave to soften for 5 minutes, then use your fingers to separate the pulp from the seeds. Push the mixture through a sieve and discard seeds and tough fibre. Heat oil over a gentle heat in a casserole, and add ginger and green chillies. Fry for 1-2 minutes then add the cashew-nut paste. Fry for 5 minutes, stirring, then add chicken. Lightly brown chicken then add tamarind liquid and mix in.
- Cover casserole with a lid and simmer very gently for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked. If the thighs are large they may take more than 30 minutes to cook through; add a little water if the sauce gets dry.
- Season chicken with salt then tip into a serving dish, scraping in all the sauce, or simply serve in the casserole. Pour over a little yoghurt and garnish with sliced red chilli and chopped coriander and mint. Serve piping hot.