From Madhur Jaffrey's "Ultimate Curry Bible".
Posted by:
Sarah Scott
on
03 November 2009
Cooking Steps:
Check through the poppy seeds for stones, then soak them in 2 tbsp boiling water for 2 hours.
Put the soaked poppy seeds, together with their soaking liquid, plus the ginger, garlic and shallots in a food processor and process until you have a paste.
Place the coriander, cumin, fennel and white peppercorns in a clean coffee grinder or other spice grinder and grind them until you have a coarse powder.
Pour the oil into a wide, preferably non-stick, lidded pan and set over a medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the star anise, cinnamon and cardamom. Stir once, then add the onion. Stir and fry until the onion turns reddish-brown. Add the ginger paste and fry, stirring at the same time, for 2-3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the ground spices. Stir them for a minute. Add the chicken and stir vigorously for 6-7 minutes or until the chicken releases its liquids. Now put in the potato, carrots, tomato, salt and cayenne pepper. Stir a few times, add 350 ml water, and bring to the boil. Cover and cook on a medium-high heat for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, beat the yoghurt in a bowl. Add the coconut milk and lemon juice, then stir gently into the chicken. Cook, uncovered, on a low heat for 5 minutes, stirring now and then.
Garnish with coriander or mint before serving.