I have this recipe so long but had forgotten about it until the other evening. My sister asked me for a curry without coconut milk as she is not a fan and I remembered this one. I love making curry’s and usually my take has more of a Thai bent with lots of coconut milk, fish sauce etc. This one for a change, has no coconut milk, its sauce is based on nuts blended to make a paste, diluted with water and topped with lots of fresh chopped coriander, green chillies and more nuts making a really lovely dish.  You should leave in the seeds in the chilli you blend but if you prefer it a bit milder, leave them out. I make it with a whole chicken which I butcher into 8 pieces and make a stock with the carcass for a soup or another dish. The cooking time is the only thing that takes a while with this dish; the paste can be ready in a few minutes. When I dished this up this evening, I was asked ‘Where are the quinoa wraps, I need something to dip in the sauce’…. Sadly I had forgotten to take them out of the freezer so we had to make do with a little rice on the side, still really nice though!

Serves 4 hungry people
1 chicken butchered into 8 pieces (or you can buy the pieces you wish to use)
30gr ginger peeled and roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic peeled and roughly chopped
2 green chillies
2 tsp turmeric
150gr unsalted cashews
3 tablespoons ghee or oil
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 cloves
3-4 black peppercorns
2 medium onions
120gr natural yoghurt
1 bunch fresh coriander chopped
Salt and Pepper

Place ginger and garlic in a blender with 125ml water, one green chilli (deseeded unless you are really brave), the turmeric and half of the cashew nuts.
In a small pan with just a drizzle of ghee or vegetable oil, fry the coriander seeds, cloves and the black peppercorns until they start to pop.
Add the seeds to the blender and blitz everything until smooth. Set aside
Season the chicken and fry in a little ghee or oil until caramelised and lovely and golden. Remember to not move them around too muuch – let them get lovely and caramelized. Dont overload then pan either or they will just steam – if you are in a hurry do the 8 pieces in 2 pans.
Remove and drain when brown.
Fry the onions in the same pan until lightly coloured. Place chicken back in the pan, season with salt, add the spice paste and pour in 225mls water, bring to the boil and then reduce to a gentle simmer.
Cover with a lid and cook for 45 minutes turning occasionally until the chicken is cooked.
Just before serving pour in the yoghurt and simmer gently for a further 3 minutes
Meanwhile roast the remaining nuts.
Slice the second chilli and sprinkle the nuts, coriander, and remaining chilli over the chicken.
Serve at once as is with my superwraps if you have them!