Burmese Dry Chicken Curry

This is from a 20 year old Sophie Grigson book. I don’t cook much chicken. I’m alone in finding it unexciting but the boy loves it. This isn’t even my sort of curry as I prefer a lot of sauce. However it intrigued me so I have given it a go.

2 onions, roughly chopped

5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1cm ginger, chopped

2 sticks lemongrass, chopped

3 red chillies chopped

2tsp fish sauce (Nam Pla)

1tsp turmeric

4tbsp oil

1 chicken, jointed

4 cardamom pods

4tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Salt and pepper

Make a paste from the onion, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, chillies, fish sauce, turmeric. I’m using our mini processor though I’m amazed at how much noise it makes. Let it scream away at top volume until you have a smooth paste.

Heat the oil in a sauté pan or deep frying pan, and start to fry off the paste. Add the chicken pieces. I asked the butcher to do this for me, though most supermarkets will happily do it for you these days. There is no excuse not use good chicken that has had a happy life here. Stir it well so the paste covers it and doesn’t stick to the pan.

The chicken should give this enough juice but I add a splash of water anyway. Cover and simmer for 35 minutes or so. Give it a stir from time to time.

Bash the cardamom pods and remove the seeds. Stir them in, along with the coriander leaves.

Serve with rice.This has an unusual taste - more like Thai food than a curry. But it's good. The boy is happy to be having chicken.  I’m always amazed at how much meat he manages to gnaw off a chicken bone. We joke that he has vampire teeth.