A Spoonful of Sugar

Genuine Howondaland Curry

(Taken from the writings of Ponce da Quirm)

Ponce da Quirm spent his whole life exploring foreign parts, I heard, and maybe it was because people laughed at his name. Apparently he was looking for the Fountain of Youth, and the odd thing about this business is that it's never, ever close to. You'd think, on average, that some of these lost fountains of youth, trees of life and cities of gold would be really close but they never are. And you never get people from a long way off coming to our part of the world lookin' for, as it might be, the Cottage of Doom, or the Lost Chicken Shed.

Ponce brought back fourteen different kinds of plant and seven interestin' sorts of animal to this part of the world, but he insisted very firmly that none of them were named after him. That's how everyone remembers him.

This curry was one he made up durin' a period where he was shipwrecked on an island that had nothing but great big fat chickeny-birds that couldn't even fly. He did leave one though, so's not to upset the balance of nature. Sometimes I reckon it would be better if there was a Fountain of Growing Up.

Serves 4

4 chicken breasts, skinned and cut into cubes
small pot natural yoghurt (150g)
1cm piece of ginger root, grated
6-8 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 fresh green chillis, deseeded and finely chopped
½ tablespoon ground cumin
½ tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
400ml tin of coconut milk
water
salt to taste
fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Mix the chicken cubes in a bowl with the yoghurt, half the grated ginger and half the crushed garlic. Cover and leave in the fridge for at least half an hour, or, better, overnight.

Heat the oil in a large pan, and cook the chopped onion for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is a definite brown. Some bits might be even dark brown - this changes the taste and makes the curry sweeter.

Stir in half the chillis, the remaining ginger and garlic, and the podered spices. You should have a paste. Tip in the coconut milk and cook for about 8-10 minutes, or until the mixture starts to get really dry and the oil starts to come out.

When it all looks thoroughly cooked and a nice thick sauce consistency, add the chicken and yoghurt mix, and a splash of water (about half a mug) and some salt. You could add a bit of lemon juice and a pinch of sugar if you want. Turn the heat down if it's higher than mediumish, and let it simmer away slowly for 15-30 minutes.

Just before the end (5 minutes) add chopped green chillis to taste. You can put chopped fresh coriander leaves on the top, if you like, for that authentic Howondaland restaurant look.

Eat with nan. In fact, invite all your relatives.

NB. Get someone else to chop the chillis if there's any slight chance you'll have to use eyedrops in the next 24-hours. Ouch!