My First Curry

I am a lover of Indian food but I have never attempted to make anything at home.... until now. I was reading one of Jamie Oliver's recent cookbooks and he had an entire chapter on easy curries. I thought I would give Chicken Korma a try. To my delight it turned out great. To the dismay of my husband and our dog Maggie (apparently both non-lovers of Indian food and Indian food smell) the smell of my delicious cooking chased them both from the house. Jason went down the street for Italian take out and Maggie stayed in the backyard eating grass (not a good sign). Hours later the smells of the spices are still wafting through the house, Jason just sprayed lysol and opened more windows but I am enjoying a fully tummy and the smells of my first curry success.

Chicken Korma

2# chicken breast
1 medium onion
1 fresh green chile
a thumb size piece of ginger root
15 oz can garbanzo beans
vegetetable oil
a pat of butter
1/2 C mild curry paste (Patak's)
14 oz can of coconut milk
a small handful of sliced almonds
2 heaping T unsweetened shredded coconut
salt and pepper

opitonal toppings
natural yogurt
lemon

Prepare:
Cut chicken into small pieces. Finely chop onion. Half, seed, and finely slice chile, Peel and finely chop ginger. Chop cilantro. Drain garbanzo beans.

Make Curry:
Saute oil, butter, onion, chile, ginger and cilantro for about 10 minutes until golden. Keep stirring to aviod burning.

Add curry paste, coconut milk, half of your slices almonds, drained garbanzo beans, coconut, and chicken. Also add 1/2 can water. Stir everything, bring to a boil and lower heat to simmer covered for 30 minutes. Check regularly to make sure it's not drying out. (My curry was rather liquid so I added a bit of flour to thicken the sauce.)

When chicken is tender and cooked season with salt and pepper.

Serve with rice. Sprinkle with a few almonds and cilantro.
You may also add a few spoonfuls of yogurt to the top and juice of a lemon wedge. (I left these out)

Enjoy :-)