Almond Chicken Curry

Lovely and fragrant chicken curry with a rich yoghurt saucem thickened with ground almonds. I like to serve mine with a tangy green apple raita, coconut rice and naan bread.

Ingredients

6	Boneless chicken thighs (Main)
2 Tbsp	Olive oil
2 medium	Onions, diced
1 Tbsp	Fresh ginger, finely grates
1 Tbsp	Garlic, finely chopped
3 tsp	Ground coriander
3 tsp	Ground cumin
1 tsp	Ground turmeric
¼ tsp	Ground fennel seeds
½	Red chillies, finely diced, test heat first
1 tsp	Salt
¼ cup	Coriander stalks, finely diced
1 can	Tomato
70 g	Ground almonds
50 g	Slivered almonds
¾ cup	Greek yoghurt
½ tsp	Garam masala

Coconut Rice

1 cup	Basmati rice
400 ml	Coconut milk
¼ cup	Water
3	Cardamom pods
½ tsp	Salt
¼ cup	Coconut chips, toasted, optional

Green Apple Raita

1 cup	Greek yoghurt
1	Granny Smith apple, grated
1 Tbsp	Black mustard seeds

Directions

1. Almond Chicken Curry Cut chicken into 2.5cm chunks. Place the olive oil in a heavy based pot and bring to a medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and ginger and reduce the heat. Let it cook for 5 minutes, onion should not brown only sweat. Add the ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, fennel and chilli and continue to cook for two minutes. If the spices begin to catch and burn reduce the heat even more and add a little water.
2. Increase the heat to medium and add the chicken, let it cook for 4 minutes or until just cooked through. Add the fresh coriander stalks and tinned tomatoes and stir until chicken is completely coated in the tomatoey sauce. Place the lid on the pot and reduce the heat to low. Let this simmer for 40 minutes.
3. Once cooked through add the ground almonds and greek yoghurt. Cook for a further 3 minutes then add the garam masala. Top with roasted slivered almonds and coriander leaves to serve.
4. Coconut Rice Add the rice, coconut milk, water, salt and cardamom pods to a pot with a lid and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook for 10 - 15 minutes, making sure that the rice isn't catching and burning on the bottom. Rice will be ready when all the moisture has been absorbed and small holes appear in the surface of the rice. use a fork to fluff it up. Remove the cardamom pods and add the toasted coconut chips to serve.
5. Apple Raita Squeeze any juice out of the grated apple and place in a bowl with the yoghurt. Dry fry the mustard seeds on a medium heat, when they begin to pop remove them from the heat and add to raita.