Bishops' Chicken Curry
I often wonder why curry took so long to catch on here, considering it was introduced to Europe in the 18th century. Every country has its own style of preparing curry, but all use highly perfumed Asian spices.

A good base curry powder consists of turmeric, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, tamarind, nutmeg and cardamom. And the essential ingredient is chilli.

In this recipe, I use ghee - purified butter. The best type is made of butter from buffaloes' milk which has twice as much fat as cows'. But, if you prefer, use ordinary butter.

For the perfect pud to follow the curry, serve up sliced apricots topped with apricot yoghurt, whipped cream and crushed pistachios.

MAIN INGREDIENTSCOCONUT RICE
  • 2oz (50g) ghee
  • 2 onions, finely sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • half inch (1cm) piece root ginger, chopped
  • 1 red chilli pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 2tblsp (30ml) red/green chilli paste
  • 1tblsp ground coriander
  • half tsp ground turmeric
  • 1lb (450g) skinless chicken, cubed
  • 1 lemon, thinly sliced
  • 4 tomatoes, skinned and chopped
  • 15fl oz (450ml) coconut milk
  • 1lb (450g) long-grain rice, rinsed
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3oz (75g) creamed coconut, chopped
  • 1tblsp butter
In a large pan, heat ghee. Fry onions and garlic for 3 minutes until transparent. Stir in ginger and chilli. Add chilli paste, coriander and turmeric. Cook gently for 2 minutes.

Add chicken and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring, until the meat is coated with spices. Add lemon slices, tomatoes and coconut milk. Reheat gently until bubbling, season. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Make coconut rice. Measure rice in cups and transfer to a large pan. For each cup of rice, add 2 cups of water. Stir in onion, coconut, half tsp salt and butter.

Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender. Serve with the chicken.

Please send any comments on this page to:
G.Mills@compserv.gla.ac.uk
(George W. Mills, Computing Service, University of Glasgow)