Fiery Chicken Jalfrezi

Ingredients:

6 tbsp Vegetable Oil
5 Scotch Bonnet Chillies
2 habanero chillies
6 ripe tomatoes, chopped
6 garlic cloves
8 dried piri-piri chillies
450g chicken breasts, cubed
1 1/2 Large onions, finely chopped
2 Red Scotch Bonnet Chillies, shredded lengthways
2 Green Birds Eye Chillies, shredded lengthways
3 Tomatoes, thickly sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp Paprika
2 tsp Chilli Powder
2 tsp Garam Masala
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp Crushed Garlic
1 tsp Grated Fresh ginger
1 tsp Ground fenugreek seeds
2 tbsp Fresh coriander, finely chopped

Method:

First make your chilli paste by adding half a chopped onion, the garlic, the whole Scotch Bonnet and Habanero chillies along with the piri-piris to a pestle and mortar. Render to a paste then add the chopped tomatoes and pound until you have a smooth puree.

Now prepare the chicken by dicing the meat into 2.5cm cubes. Add about 5 tbsp of oil in a frying pan along with 4 tbsp of the chilli paste. Fry for about 5 minutes until it darkens. Now add the meat and stir until coated. Turn down the heat to a simmer, add half the remaining chilli paste, along with the bell pepper, cover and cook for about 35 minutes until the chicken is done. Allow to cool and set aside in the fridge until needed (you may even freeze the lamb in ready to use packets).

Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan, add the garlic and ginger and fry for 2 minutes. At the end of this time add the onions and fry over medium heat until translucent. Now add the remaining chilli paste and cook until just boiling before adding the meat, salt, paprika, chilli powder, ground cumin, ground coriander and ground fenugreek. Mix into the curry sauce and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Now add the garam masala and tomatoes. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about five minutes.

Take the curry off the heat, allow to settle for a minute, skim-off any excess oil and serve sprinkled with the chopped coriander and the shredded chillies.

This is my favourite curry dish and I normally like it very hot, but it's been adapted here for those who are used to eating really hot chillies from childhood. Reduce the amount of shredded Scotch bonnets for your own taste.

Find more BIR recipes on the FabulousFusionFood British Indian Restaurant (BIR) recipes page.