Currys always seem to be the hardest thing to get right. Living above a really good Indian restaurant, I decided to ask the chef for an easy recipe to cook at home. With a few tweaks, I think I finally perfected a recipe which tastes much better than anything you can buy in a restaurant. Best served with boiled rice and or a roti. This recipe serves around 3-4 people, but you can double up the ingredients if you plan to feed more.

Ingredients:

2 Chicken breasts (cut into large cubes) or lamb if you prefer
5 Cloves of garlic (minced)
1Tbsp of ground almonds
1Tbsp of dessicated coconut
1/2 Can of coconut milk (best quality possible, cheap stuff tastes nasty!)
4-5 cardomom pods
1/2 Tsp of chilli powder (add more if you like it hot!)
1 Tsp ground turmeric
1/2 Tsp fenugreek powder
1 Dried Red Chilli
2 Bay leaves
1Tbsp chopped corriander
2 Tsp sugar
Salt to taste
2Tbsp ghee or vegetable oil for cooking the chicken

1. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan or wok, add the bay leaves, cardomom pods and dried chilli. Fry for 1 minute to release flavour into the oil.

2. Add the chicken or lamb. Do not stir for first 30 seconds, enabling it to 'catch' on one side so it doesnt break up so easily. Cook for 5 minutes or until slightly golden. While cooking, dry fry almond and coconut until lightly browned in a heavy skillet to release the oils. Remove from heat and place in a bowl.

3. To the chicken, add the coconut milk, almond and coconut, chilli powder, turmeric, fenugreek, garlic, bay leaves, sugar and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook on a low heat for 15 minutes, minimising stirring so as not to break up the chicken pieces.

4. Remove lid and stir in the corriander, save a little for garnishing. Be careful not to add too much as this will overpower all the other flavours in the dish.

If the sauce is too thick, you can add a little water to bring it to the correct consistency. Serve with pilau rice or, my favourite, a crisp roti. Garnish with a pinch of fresh corriander and a tiny drizzle of coconut milk (you could also use double cream).

Please let me know how you got on with this recipe. The secret is not to go overboard on the spices and certainly not on the corriander. Enjoy!