Sophie Dahl's Chicken Curry

This weekend I took delivery of three new cookbooks, one of which being ‘Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights’. I was attracted initially by the mouth watering photography and the way in which the recipes are divided seasonally, and in to breakfast, lunch and supper. The book does not disappoint, and I’m looking forward in particular to trying my hand at the brown rice risotto with pumpkin, mascarpone, sage and almonds and the warm winter vegetable salad. An added bonus for a anyone who doesn’t really eat red meat is that Sophie is a vegetarian and only includes chicken and fish recipes in the book, a long with some really inventive looking vegetarian dishes.

Yesterday I wasn’t feeling too adventurous, so turned to Sophie’s dad’s Chicken Curry. I had all the ingredients in the house and it all looked very straightforward so I gave it a go, and I can’t tell you how pleased I was with the results. A lot of coconut is included in the recipe so I was expecting it to be overly sweet, but all of the other flavours shone through really nicely. It was absolutely delicious, and if this is anything to go by, I can’t wait to try cooking from the rest of the book.

Adapted from ‘Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights’ (I omitted the Serrano chillies and served it with boiled rice sprinkled with black onion seeds rather then the suggested cauliflower.)

Serves 2 hungry students

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

a thumb sized slice of fresh root ginger, grated

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp curry powder

2 chicken breasts, chopped into bite sized pieces

400ml can of light coconut milk

salt and pepper

enough rice for 2

tbsp black onion seeds

1. Sweat the onion, garlic and ginger in oil in a large deep frying pan for a few minutes. Add the curry powder, and stir for a few more minutes. Add the chicken to the mixture and cook for another few minutes before seasoning to taste.
2. Pour the coconut into the pan and simmer over a low heat for about 20 minutes, until the chicken is properly cooked through.
3. Meanwhile boil the rice according to manufacturers instructions, and toss in some black onion seeds for the final minute of cooking.

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: UNDER £4

Kitchen Requirements: LARGE DEEP PAN, SAUCE PAN.