Ingredients

5 lb chicken skinned and cut into small pieces

1 large onion

1 head of garlic

Wiri wiri peppers

2 tbsp. ground garam masala

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp curry powder

4-8 cups of water, depending on the amount of chicken

2-4 potatoes halved

1-2 cloves to be added at the end

Salt and pepper to taste

Chicken curry is surely a staple in West-Indian cooking. This basic recipe that everyone craves is not so hard to prepare, all it takes is dash of patience, a sprinkle of flavor and a pinch of spice, or in my case a really big pinch!

Directions

• Prepare chicken for cooking. Wash with vinegar and drain. I prefer using breast meat when making curry, but traditionally the whole chicken is used. Wash and clean thouroughlly to avoid any rank taste.
• In a karahee steam chicken with black pepper, after 10 minutes strain the excess water. Doing this eliminates the rank taste from the meat and some of the fat
• Prepare garam masala from scratch for  the the most freshest aromatic curry. If you are not able to get fresh masala, store bought ground masala kept in an air-tight container will work

• Wash, parch and grind masala until it is a fine powder

• Grind a mixture of onion, garlic and peppers. You can chop finely but grinding ensures that the seasonings will distribute throughout the curry. If you want a sprig of thyme can be added to the mixture.

• In a karahee, sautee the onion mixture, masala, curry powder and turmeric with oil on low heat. Be sure to avoid buring this mixture or you will have to start over. If needed a cup of water can be added. Simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes to cook out the raw taste of the masala

• Add chicken and turn to coat pieces. Add potatoes halves, season with salt

• Add about 4 to 8 cups of water depending on the amount of chicken. This should come up to half way on the pot

• Simmer on medium heat until the chicken and potatoes are cooked through. Don’t over turn the curry, or the chicken pieces and potatoes will break apart too much
• If more seasoning is needed, add to your liking.
• About 5 minutes from finishing, I like to add 1 or 2 cloves for an extra pop of taste to the curry, I find that this brings out more flavor from the masala and gets rid of any rank taste from the meat