Curry Recipe Academy - Basic Chicken Curry

Ingredients

• 900 g chicken thigh, boneless, cut into large pieces — briefly wash in water with lemon juice and pat dry (chef’s habit). Do not marinate.
• 2 white onions, large, ground very finely in a food processor
• 4 tomatoes, large vine tomatoes, whole
• 10 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 piece fresh ginger, about 2.5 cm, finely chopped
• 2 bay leaves, Asian (tej patta)
• 1.5 tsp salt, Himalayan salt or other salt
• 2 tsp turmeric, level
• 2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder, 1 tsp also possible, less color and heat
• 2 tsp ground coriander, preferably freshly ground
• 1.5 tsp ground cumin, preferably freshly ground — The video description says 1 tsp, in the video he uses 1.5 tsp
• 1 tsp garam masala, heaping tsp, good quality, add only at the end
• 150 ml extra virgin olive oil
• Hot water, as needed for desired sauce thickness

Method

1. Grind onions: Process the onions in a food processor until almost a pulp. You can also chop by hand, but then very finely. The finer, the faster they cook and the smoother the sauce.
2. Oil and bay leaves: Heat the olive oil in a wok or karahi, but not to smoking point. Add the bay leaves and let them sizzle briefly to flavor the oil.
3. Cook onions: Add the onions and salt (salt draws moisture from the onions). Cover and cook on low to medium heat until translucent. They do not need to brown. They are done when the sharp onion smell is gone.
4. Add garlic and ginger: Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook until the garlic smells sweet and nutty.
5. Cook tomatoes: Place the whole tomatoes in the pan, cover, and let soften.
6. Peel and mash tomatoes: Remove the skins from the tomatoes and discard. Mash the tomatoes with a masher into the onion-garlic mixture. No blending needed; this already makes a smooth sauce.
7. Cook spices: Add turmeric, Kashmiri chili powder, ground coriander, and cumin (not garam masala yet) and stir well. Turn the heat slightly higher, cover, and cook until the oil separates.
8. Cook chicken: Stir the chicken into the spice mixture. Cover and cook. The chicken releases a lot of moisture which becomes the sauce. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Chicken is cooked when oil rises to the surface.
9. Adjust thickness and add garam masala: Scrape everything loose from the bottom. Add hot water as desired to reach preferred thickness and stir in the garam masala.
10. Bring to a boil and simmer: Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat and simmer until oil floats on top. Taste and adjust salt.