Indian Chicken Curry with Naan Bread

Step 1

Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the rice and mix constantly for a minute.

Step 2

Add the salt and water and mix. When it starts to boil reduce the heat to a minimum and put a lid on the pot.

Step 3

Cook for 15-20min or until all the water has been absorbed. Remove the lid and use a fork to fluff up the rice.

Step 4

Mix the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix.

Step 5

Knead the dough until it's homogeneous and shiny.

Step 6

Drizzle a bit of vegetable or canola oil in a bowl and place the dough inside. Turn it so it gets coated with the oil. This will help prevent it from drying out as it proofs.

Step 7

Cover the bowl with a kitchen cloth and let the dough proof for one hour or until it has doubled in size.

Step 8

Divide the dough in 6 portions and stretch them to 2-3mm thick using a rolling pin.

Step 9

Preheat a pan on really high heat until it begins to smoke. Paint a bit of vegetable oil on the pan and place a portion of Naan on top. You'll see it puff up and from then give it a couple seconds and turn it around for a few extra seconds.

Step 10

Place the bread in a bowl and cover them with a kitchen cloth so they stay warm. You can paint them with a mix of butter and salt or also add garlic like I did.

Step 11

Place all the ingredients on a baking tray and into a preheated oven at 180C for 3-5min. We want them to be nice and golden but they also burn pretty fast so keep an eye on them.

Step 12

To grind them up I used a mortar and pestle and did it in 4-5 sections. You could also use a spice grinder or a food processor.

Step 13

If you can't find any of the spices in their whole version you can replace for their ground version. You should still toast them a bit on a pan on low heat and stirring constantly since they are ready really fast.

Step 14

Blend the onion, garlic and ginger. Also blend the tomatoes but keep them separate.

Step 15

Place a pot over medium heat and add the oil. Cook the onion purée in there. At first it will release lots of water and you will only have to stir occasionally but as it dries up you need to be more careful because it will start to stick to the bottom of the pot.

Step 16

It's ready when the mix has completely caramelized and it has a brown colour.

Step 17

Add the blended tomatoes and mix constantly until it thickens up and you can clearly see the bottom of the pan when you stir.

Step 18

Add the spices and mix. Then add the chicken and the water and place a lid on the pot. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook the chicken for 10-15min or until nice and tender.