Name: Adam Byatt’s chicken curry
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: Cold-pressed rapeseed oil to fry; Plain flour to dust; 1.5kg chicken, cut into 13 pieces (see ‘before you start#); 3 onions, finely chopped; 4 garlic cloves, finely grated; 50g ginger, finely grated; 2 green chillies, 1 finely chopped, 1 halved; 4 ripe tomatoes; 1.2 litres white chicken stock (see ‘tips’); 200ml coconut milk; Cooked rice, mango chutney, raita and lime wedges to serve; 1 tsp black peppercorns; 1 tsp cumin seeds; 1 tsp star anise; 1 tsp coriander seeds; 1 tsp fennel seeds; 1 tsp black mustard seeds; 2 tsp curry powder; 12g sea salt flakes

Adam Byatt’s chicken curry

Chef Adam Byatt shares his perfect chicken curry recipe, using key culinary skills like jointing the bird and making stock to make a satisfying curry with bags of flavour. Adam says: “Here I’ve made an aromatic curry, a comforting dish for a cold day. Homemade chicken stock provides the perfect platform for building layers of flavour.”

Dairy-free

Serves6

Hands-on15 min

Oven1 hour 15 min

DifficultyMedium

Method

Put all the ingredients for the spice mix (except the curry powder and salt) in a dry pan over a medium heat. Stir for 1-2 minutes or until they smell aromatic, then put in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar with the curry powder and salt and grind/pound into a powder.

Put a large pan or casserole over a medium heat with a dash of oil. Dust a plate with flour, then season it with a pinch of salt and a few generous pinches of the spice mix. Add the chicken pieces to the flour, turning them so they’re fully coated, then add to the pan. Cook, turning, for a few minutes on each side until well browned all over, then transfer to a plate and set aside.

Heat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/gas 3½. Add a dash of oil to the pan/casserole over a medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, ginger, chillies and remaining spice mix and cook, stirring often, for about 8 minutes until softened.

Meanwhile, boil the kettle, put the tomatoes in a heatproof bowl and set up a bowl of iced water alongside. Pour boiling water over the tomatoes, wait 10 seconds, then transfer to the iced water. The tomatoes should now be easy to peel; remove the skins, halve them, then scrape out and discard the seeds. Chop the flesh into small pieces (this is called a concasse).

Add the tomatoes to the pan and cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the stock and coconut milk, bring to a simmer, then add the chicken. Cover with a pan-sized circle of baking paper cut to sit on the surface (a cartouche). Cook in the oven for 45 minutes.

Divide the curry among serving plates, then serve with the rice, chutney, raita and a lime wedge.

Per serving (Serves 6)

Calories

480kcals

Fat

32g (11g saturated)

Protein

37g

Carbohydrates

9.7g (7.4g sugars)

Fibre

2.6g

Quick wins, tips & make ahead

For 2-3l white chicken stock Put 1 whole chicken carcass , 2-3 smaller carcasses or 1.5kg chicken wings in a large pan with 1 peeled and roughly chopped carrot , 1 sliced onion , 1 roughly chopped celery stick , the roughly chopped white part of half a leek , 1 halved garlic bulb and 6 litres water . Add 10g thyme, 2 bay leaves , 10g rosemary and 1 tsp black peppercorns. Bring to the boil, then simmer, uncovered, for 4 hours, using a ladle to remove any impurities from the surface every now and then. Taste and simmer for longer if needed. Strain, cover and cool – it’ll keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

For 2-3l brown chicken stock

Follow the method above but first roast the carcass or wings at 220°C/200°C fan/gas 7 for 1 hour 20 minutes and the veg, garlic, herbs and peppercorns for 30 minutes. Drain any excess fat/oil, then put in a pan with the water. You’ll need to skim away more excess fat and impurities during the simmer.