The 12 Best Curries to Cook at Home

Method:

A curry to cook at home

Chicken Nepal is not one fixed restaurant recipe. Here it means a Nepalese-inspired chicken curry with extra ginger, black pepper and a light tomato gravy. Allow about 60 minutes. It is fragrant and spoonable, with no cream to hide the ginger; bring rice to the table to catch the juices.

Ingredients for four

- Chicken thighs (700 g)
- Onions (2)
- Garlic (4 cloves)
- Ginger (30 g)
- Oil (2 tbsp)
- Tinned tomatoes (400 g)
- Cumin (2 tsp)
- Ground coriander (2 tsp)
- Turmeric (1/2 tsp)
- Sweet paprika (1 tsp)
- Cayenne (1/4 tsp)
- Water (300 ml)
- Salt (1/2 tsp)
- Black pepper (1/2 tsp)
- Lemon (1/2)

Before you start

Measure the ingredients before starting. The chicken quantity is the weight after removing skin and bones. Keep the lemon and any finishing ingredients beside the stove rather than mixing them into the dry spices.

At the stove

Use skinless, boneless chicken thighs cut into 3 cm pieces. Finely chop the onions, crush the garlic and grate the ginger. Heat the oil in a wide, deep pan and cook the onions for 10–12 minutes until golden. Add garlic and ginger for 1 minute, then the dry spices for 30 seconds, stirring so that they do not burn.

Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes, turning it in the spices. Add tomatoes, water and salt. Simmer partially covered for 20–25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked. Keep the gravy looser than the balti sauce; add a splash of water if it reduces too far.

Check a thick piece with a food thermometer: the centre should stay at 75°C for 30 seconds. If it has not, continue cooking and check again. Add a little hot water if the sauce becomes too thick.

Finish and serve

Finely grate a little zest from the washed half lemon into the sauce, then add 1 tbsp of its juice. Taste before adding more.

Taste for salt and let the curry stand for 5 minutes. Serve with plain rice or warm flatbread, bought ready-made if that makes dinner easier. Put a little plain yogurt on the table for anyone who wants to soften the heat; it is an optional accompaniment.

Everyday substitutions

Black pepper and lemon zest give warmth and citrus fragrance in place of hard-to-find timur; they cannot reproduce its tingling sensation. Fenugreek seeds and mustard oil are omitted in this supermarket version. Fresh ginger is preferable; if unavailable, use 1 tsp ground ginger, added with the dry spices, for a less fresh result.

Use sunflower, rapeseed or mild olive oil; ghee is optional, in the same quantity. Use pure cayenne or ground chilli, not a chilli-con-carne seasoning blend. Start with less if you prefer gentle heat. All spoon measures are level; spices are ground unless stated otherwise.