Chicken Madras

Here is my recipe for chicken Madras, and when in doubt it is always one of my go-to curries of choice. I like a nice spicy chicken phall occasionally, but for the most part I prefer my curries to be of either medium heat or hot. Madras is considered to be a hot curry, but nowhere near as hot as phall, the hottest curry that Indian restaurants and takeaways make, or restaurant style vindaloo, which is always much hotter than the traditional Goan version. Madras curry can be made with vegetables, seafood or meats, such as beef, chicken, lamb or pork. There are countless recipes in cookery books and on the internet for Madras curry, and the one shown below is my version. It's a reasonably hot curry with a rich, clingy sauce and can be served with side salad and plain boiled rice, chips or naan bread.

Chicken Madras Curry

Madras is a very popular curry in Britain and several theories exist as to its true origins. Some people believe it was invented in India during the time of the British Raj, and others believe it to be a British Indian restaurant (BIR) invention. I've written more about this topic on the beef Madras page, if anyone is interested.

Ingredients:

• 10g peeled fresh coconut, finely grated (see notes)
• 3 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 3 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (see notes)
• 1 teaspoon black or yellow mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 2 teaspoons chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 6 green cardamoms, cracked
• 6 cloves
• 1-inch piece cassia bark
• 400g finely diced white onion
• 3–4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1-1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt or salt to taste
• 4–6 fresh curry leaves, (optional)
• 600–700g chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2–8 fresh finger chillies (red or green), finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• 500ml curry base
• 1 tablespoon kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
• 2 whole dried red chillies, slightly torn
• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Method:

1. Place the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds and black peppercorns into an electric coffee grinder and grind until fine. Add the chilli powder, paprika, turmeric and garam masala and pulse a few more times. Add the grated fresh coconut and grind again until everything is well mixed. Set aside.


2. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat and add the green cardamoms, cloves and cassia bark. Allow the spices to sizzle for about 1 minute until they become fragrant.


3. Add the onion, mix well and fry 8–10 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking, until soft and translucent.


4. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the garlic, ginger and salt. Mix well and continue to fry for a further 30–40 minutes or until the mixture turns golden brown.


5. If using fresh curry leaves, move the browned onions to one side of the pot and drop the curry leaves into the oil on the opposite side and allow them to splutter for a few seconds.


6. Once the onion mixture has turned golden brown add the ground spices and mix well to ensure they are incorporated into the oil. Add the chicken and the fresh finger chillies. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking. Next, stir in the tomato puree and continue to fry for a further 2–3 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking. If at any point the spices start sticking to the bottom of the pot before the meat has started releasing its juices then just add a tablespoon of hot water and scrape them off with your spoon. Do not allow the spices to burn or it will ruin the flavour of the curry.


7. Add the curry base, kasoori methi, whole dried red chillies and freshly squeezed lime juice. Mix well, and bring to a gentle simmer. Once simmering, cover and then place into a preheated oven at 200C/400F/Gas 6 and cook for 45 minutes.

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Notes:

• For more information about helpful curry cooking tips and techniques click here.


• The recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds to be ground when making the spice mixture. I normally grind whole spices as and when I need them, but if all you have available is fenugreek powder then you can just use 1 rounded teaspoon of fenugreek powder instead.


• I purchase fresh coconuts every year and cut the unpeeled flesh into 1-inch chunks and store it in the freezer. When double-bagged, fresh coconut can be stored in the freezer for a year or more. When needed, I peel off the brown skin using a potato peeler and grate it whilst still frozen. It's much easier to peel and grate whilst still frozen, but it thaws out quite quickly so it needs doing straight away. If you can't get hold of fresh coconuts then just use 8–10g of desiccated coconut instead.