Vegetable Curry with Optional Chicken

Oh dear me,  this meal started off its life as a vegetable curry inspired by my friend Heather.  As I grew hungrier it became more and more tempting to add in some meat.  So chicken thighs were seared in a pan and combined with the veggies and a tasty result ensued.

Ingredients for 4

8 chicken thighs, cut into generous chunks

1 tbsp sunflower oil or ghee

2 onions, sliced

3 red chillies, deseeded and finally sliced, or if you like it hot leave the seeds in

1 inch of ginger, finely chopped

2 teasp cumin seeds, toasted if you have time

1 generous teasp madras curry powder

1 teasp turmeric

500g small new potatoes, or halved if larger

500ml pot of natural yoghurt

1 small bunch of coriander, stalks and leaves finely chopped

1/2 pint vegetable stock

250g peas, fresh or frozen 

1/2 bunch of asparagus, woody ends discarded

1/2 bag of spinach

Or any other veg you fancy, swede, butternut squash, courgette, cauliflower. 

Method

1. If using the chicken then sear in oil in a hot pan and set aside.  Add the chicken to the curry at stage 2. Heat the oil in a large deep frying pan.  Add the onions and cook until golden. Now add the chillies, ginger and spices and cook gently for a few minutes only.  Stir in the potatoes and any other root veg you might be using and coat with the mix. 

2. Add the yoghurt, coriander stalks and the stock.  Simmer gently for 35-40 minutes until the potatoes are soft and the sauce reduced.  Stir in the peas and asparagus and cook for another 5 minutes.  Style it up with some coriander leaves and serve with lime wedges, rice or naan bread.