Chicken and Red Peppery Curry

Chicken and Red Peppery Curry

Now, I normally like to try new things and have variety, but this meal appears resolutely every Saturday night. Some people get a takeaway or a curry on Saturdays, but not us. 

We have, without fail, chicken and red pepper curry- because it's the same meal that my parents have been having every Saturday night for the last eighteen years. Just let that sink in... Talk about tradition. 

Well, given its near-legendary status at home, what with it being perhaps my mum's favourite meal, I had my reservations about cooking it. I didn't want to disappoint, especially when some of my mum's attempts when my dad hasn't been home have never tasted quite like the real thing. (Sorry Mum.) But I thought that I just had to include such a family favourite, especially because it's such a bright, fresh, spicy sort of curry- not heavy or overly rich, but deliciously simple and packed full of flavour. And peppers... 

• And of course, I knew that something so iconic just had to be shared with you all ;) 

Chicken and Red Pepper Curry 

Serves 4-5 

- 1 hour:

- 20 - 30 mins prep (a lot of chopping but it's worth it); 25 mins cooking 

Ingredients:

• 2 brown onions 
• 4 tsp cumin 
• 2 tsp coriander
• Large, 5cm piece of fresh ginger
• 1 clove of garlic 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 fresh red chilli
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder 
• 5-6 ripe, small-medium red peppers, roughly chopped into small pieces
• 2 chicken breasts, cut into chunks 
• 1 yellow or orange pepper, cut into chunks 
• Juice of 1 lemon 
• Black pepper to taste

Method:

1. Cut one onion into wedges and heat a tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan or frying pan. Add to the pan once hot, then turn the heat down to medium-low to soften the onions slowly until golden. 

2. Roughly chop the other onion and put in a food processor (it will need to be big) with the spices, ginger, garlic and chilli. 

3. Rinse and pat dry the peppers before adding them to the food processor as well. Now blitz everything together, until it is broken down to a thick, saucy consistency - a bit like a smoothie - and there are no chunks of anything left. You may have to do this in batches if your processor isn't big enough. 

4. Now add this pepper mix to the onions and turn up the heat to bring it to a boil. Let simmer and reduce for ten minutes to allow a lot of the moisture in the peppers to evaporate, to intensify the flavour of the sauce 

5. Meanwhile cut the chicken into 2-4cm cubes, chop the yellow pepper into large chunks and slice a lemon in half. Once the sauce has reduced, boil your kettle and measure out your rice. 

6. Add a little boiled water to the sauce if it looks too dry, then allow to simmer while you put your rice into a pan of boiling water. Now add the chicken, yellow pepper, lemon juice and black pepper to the sauce and allow the rice and curry to summer for ten minutes more. 

7. Serve