Indian-spiced Chicken Curry

I love simple recipes, and this is one of them. Looking at recipes with a huge list of ingredients can be a bit daunting, and many times all you need for a yummy dish are only a few spices. Don't fret if you have one spice but not the other - make do with what you have. The original recipe called for garam masala and cayenne pepper, which I didn't have at the time, so I used what I had in my pantry (you'll find that I do that a lot with my cooking).

It's kinda weird using yoghurt in curries (for me anyway). I suppose it is used instead of coconut milk/cream as is usual in Malaysian/Thai curries. A whole lot healthier too. This is my second time using yoghurt in my cooking, and I am quite pleased with how this turned out. I didn't have any lemons on hand, so I used the beautifully fragrant leaves from my mum's kaffir lime tree. I also used fresh chilli padi picked from my mum's garden. A note of caution: chilli padi is quite spicy so you can use normal chilli (or none) instead. Using chicken pieces with bones and skin will add more flavour to the curry than fillets, but will need to increase cooking time to ensure the chicken is cooked. I've included potatoes to add some body to the curry.

Ingredients

500grams chicken fillet (breast or thighs), cut into bite-sizes
3/4 cup natural yoghurt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbs grated ginger
3 or 4 red chilli padi, chopped
1 tsp ground paprika
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground cinammon
ground pepper, to taste
some oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium potato, cubed fairly small
1/2 cup chicken stock or water
3-4 kaffir lime leaves
salt to taste

Method

Combine half the yoghurt, garlic, ginger, chilli padi, and spices into a paste. Marinate the chicken in the mixture for at least 30minutes (or overnight if you can). Brown the chicken with some oil in a pan over high heat, then set aside. Turn down the heat to medium-high and brown the onion. Add the potato and stirfry for a couple of minutes, then add just enough water or chicken stock to deglaze the pan. Cook until potatoes are soft (but not mush) then add chicken, remaining yoghurt and the kaffir leaves into the pan. Cook for a further 5-10 minutes whilst enjoying the beautiful aroma. Add salt to taste and serve with basmati rice and stirfry veges.