Recipe - Zeenat's Chicken Curry

Faizan, our finance manager, is a very lucky man. His wife Zeenat is an excellent cook! Proof of this can be seen in his expanded waistline. But he’s a young man and will soon work off the extra pounds. Talking of extra pounds, we office folk are also fortunate enough to sample Zeenat’s cooking from time to time. Her butter chicken is to die for!

Faizan talked to Zeenat about her cooking past and present;

Faizan: How did you learn to cook?

Zeenat: As a young child I was always in the kitchen with my mum and my family, talking about general things, and watching what my mum was doing. As I grew up I would practice my mum’s recipes and my cooking skills developed from there. For any advice on food related stuff mum was the person to ask!

Faizan: What do you enjoy about cooking?

Zeenat: I was never really that keen on cooking and to be honest, I found it a bit of a chore. But since becoming a wife and a mother I get a great deal of joy from watching people enjoy eating what I’ve cooked. So now I see time spent in the kitchen worthwhile just to see the excitement loved ones get from my food!

Faizan: What’s your favourite meal?

Zeenat: It has to be a classic chicken curry and rice. A perfect home cooked dinner for winter nights. It’s also the perfect meal for when I’m feeling a little down. It never fails to cheer me up!

Zeenat’s Perfect Chicken Curry:

2 tbsb of oil
250g chopped tomatoes (tinned or fresh)
2 medium sized onions
2 tsp whole cumin seeds
A few peppercorns
1 or 2 fresh chillies (depending on how hot you like your curry!)
Freshly cut coriander
1 tsp chilli powder
1½ tsp ground cumin powder
1½ tsp coriander powder
1½ tsp turmeric
1 tbsb ginger or garlic paste
500g chicken
200ml water
Salt to taste

Method:

1 – Heat oil with whole cumin seeds and peppercorns.
2 – Finely chop the onions and add them to the oil. Cook until soft and brown.
3 – In a food processor, blend the tomatoes, coriander, fresh chilli and ginger/garlic paste.
4 – Once the onions are browned, add the blended mixture and stir for a few minutes.
5 – Add all the dry spices and chicken and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour.
6 – Check to ensure chicken is cooked then add the 200ml of water and bring to boil. Boil for 5 minutes.
7 – Turn off the heat and enjoy with rice or naan bread. Or both!