Curry of Many Parts

 One of the things I have continued to try and perfect during my hiatus from compiling this blog is the perfect curry mix. The are two key tips I've learned the first, which I feel take the best traditions from Bengali meat curries on which many "traditional" British Curries are based and vegan curry recipes, are to give equal precedence to the meat and the vegetables. The second is to always marinate the ingredients for some time before cooking them. 

With this in mind, I recently made a Chicken and Broccoli Curry that I had left the ingredients of to marinate for most of the day before I cooked them. This curry was a product of my recent quiet weekend which involved much rest, reflection and re-setting together with important reading of papers. 

On the player for the preparation was music, which matched the temperamental spring storm out of doors, in the shape of disc two of Pink Floyd's The Early Years Box Set. This disc covered 1968, a year that could have broken them with losing their lead singer and key songwriter. However the trend towards more expansive pieces that were by turns more reflective and mellow while still allowing space for power and intensity showed them on the first steps to securing their ultimately illustrious future. 

The ingredients for the Curry were as follows:

Two Chicken Breasts cut into cubes

Two 4cm x 2cm pieces of Root Ginger, peeled and sliced finely. 

Six cloves of Garlic, peeled, topped, tailed and sliced finely.

A teaspoon of Tomato Puree. 

A teaspoon of dried Chilli Flakes of your choice. I used hot and smoky Chilli Flakes. 

A tablespoon of Sumac.

A tablespoon Garam Masala.

A tablespoon of Fenugreek. 

A teaspoon of Turmeric.

A tablespoon of Fresh Mint well chopped. 

A head of Broccoli well diced. 

One hundred grams of Cashew Nuts.

A quarter of a pint of Chicken Stock.

One Bell Pepper, de-seeded, cored and sliced into small squares. 

One hundred grams of Rice of your choice 

The method goes like this:

1. Take all ingredients, save the Rice, and combine together in a deep bowl. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and hold the sides of it to stop the clingfilm slipped off. 

2. Shake the bowl hard for a couple of minutes while holding the clingfilm in place to ensure none of the ingredients escape. 

3. Put the bowl of ingredients, still covered with the clingfilm, in the fridge or somewhere else cool and leave to marinate for 8-12 hours. 

4. Melt some Salted Butter in Le Cresceut or other similar dish/deep pan. 

5. Add the ingredients and cook on a medium heat on the hob for around half an hour stirring them frequently to avoid them sticking to the bottom of the man. 

6. After half an hour add the vegetable stock and stir this in cooking for another half an hour. 

7. While the above is happening, boil the Rice for around fifteen minutes until soft and add extra Turmeric to the Rice if so desired. 

8. When the Curry mix is cooked, add the Rice to the dish and stir through before serving. 

The good thing about this Curry was that there were three main flavoursome ingredients to it as the marinating of the Broccoli and the Cashew Nuts meant it was not just the tender chicken pieces that made this dish a flavoursome experience.