Mum’s Slow-Cooked Indian Chicken Curry

This is my mum’s chicken curry, a recipe I’ve kept and cooked from an old email she sent me when I first moved to London. She was born in India and came to the UK when she was 12, and she became a fantastic cook. Her curries were always a favourite of mine, so finding this old recipe was really special.

I’ve made a few small changes to my mum’s original recipe, including marinating the chicken with lemon and chilli before cooking. The chicken is then slowly cooked on the bone with warming spices including coriander, cumin, paprika, turmeric, fenugreek, cardamom and cloves. Tomatoes, ginger, garlic and creamed coconut create a rich, aromatic curry sauce.

This is quite a saucy curry rather than a thick one, which is how my mum always made her curries. She liked plenty of sauce for mopping up with bread. The chicken would be cooked slowly on the bone until it was incredibly tender — so tender that she would even chew the bones to get to the marrow inside! It sounds a little strange, but honestly, it tasted great.

1 chicken, cut up into pieces, skin removed but bones left in
Marinade:
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. chilli powder
salt & pepper

Curry:
2 tbsp. Ghee
1 onion, sliced
2 tbsp. coriander powder
1 tbsp. cumin powder
1 tbsp. paprika
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. fenugreek powder
7 whole cloves
8 cardamon pods, bashed
2″ chunk of ginger, grated
3 large cloves of garlic, grated
2 red chillies, chopped
1 tbsp. tomato puree
400ml chopped tomatoes
2″ chunk creamed coconut
20g fresh coriander, chopped

Pour the lemon juice and chilli on the chicken, season with salt and pepper. Rub this all over the meat and let it marinade for 30 minutes in the fridge. The lemon helps tenderise the chicken.

Heat half of the ghee and brown the chicken pieces in batches, set aside.

Add the sliced onions. Add the rest of the ghee if it is sticking. Cook until the onions are soft. Then add the ginger, garlic, and chillies. Cook for a few minutes then add all the dry spices, mix well.

Place the chicken back into the pan and coat in the spices, then pour in the tin tomatoes. Using the tomato tin add another tin and a half of water. You want this liquid to be covering the chicken, add more if needed.

Cover and simmer for around 30 minutes.

Remove the lid and taste for seasoning.

Add the creamed coconut and the coriander, mix well. Cook until the coconut has melted, approx. another 10 minutes.

Serve with rice.

LULU’S NOTES

CREAMED COCONUT

I use creamed coconut in this curry, which comes in a solid block. You can find it in most supermarkets, usually in the Asian or world food section. Any brand will work well.

Creamed coconut block example