Tomato Chicken Curry

I am always on the lookout for interesting new recipes for dinner, and I found one in the January/February 2016 edition of Taste magazine - for a Tomato and Tamarind Chicken Curry.  I do love a good curry, so this recipe was a winner for me.

I didn't have any tamarind and was not prepared to pay $5 for a jar of which I'd use 2 tablespoons, so after some Internet searching, I used two dried figs and a tablespoon of vinegar instead.

The curry tasted great - I really enjoyed this curry served with boiled brown rice and blanched broccolini.

To make this curry according to the original recipe, you will need:

2 tablespoons ghee (I used olive oil)
1 chopped brown onion
4 quartered roma tomatoes
5 peeled garlic cloves
1 chopped red chilli
3cm piece of peeled grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons tamarind puree
3 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds (I used ground cumin)
16 fresh curry leaves
1kg chicken thigh fillets, quartered
125ml water

Heat 1 tablespoon of the ghee or oil in a large shallow casserole dish, add the onion, tomato, garlic and chilli, season and cook for 10 minutes or until caramelised.  Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and add ginger, tamarind, curry power and sugar.  Process until smooth.

 Heat the remaining ghee or oil in the casserole dish.  Add cumin and curry leaves and cook for 1 minute or until aromatic.  Add the blended tomato mixture and cook for 4 minutes then add the chicken.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Add the water, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked, stirring occasionally.  Season and serve.