Chicken and Courgette Curry.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Today, I'm planning on re-potting my courgette plants.
I never thought I would ever type that sentence, by the way.
Me and gardening have never really been the best of friends. It's more my parents thing than mine but this year, that has changed. Especially when it comes to the vegetable department.

During Ramadan, I planted quite a few vegetable seeds that I got from the supermarket. And, voila! A few weeks later and actual vegetables are growing! The ones that I'm most proud of are the courgettes. They've started to flower within the last few days and apparently, that means courgettes are on the way. I was tempted to pick the flowers and deep-fry them Italian style but according to the experts, if I did that then I wouldn't get any actual courgettes.

Today's curry recipe involves courgettes. Not mine but supermarket ones. Let's hope mine grow as big as theirs! This curry is really easy to make because there's no real chopping involved. Most of the base ingredients like onion, ginger, garlic, and tomatoes are simply blended until smooth. The courgettes are roughly chopped up and added into the curry halfway through the cooking time. Once cooked, serve the curry with fresh roti or boiled rice for a lovely dinner.

Courgette, previously: courgette and feta fritters // courgette, mushroom, and spring onion frittata // roasted vegetable soup 

A Simple List of Ingredients:

1. Whole Chicken Pieces

2. Onions

3. Garlic

4. Ginger

5. Tomatoes

6. Fresh Coriander

7. Courgettes

8. Ground Coriander

9. Ground Cumin

10. Ground Turmeric

11. Red Chilli Powder

12. Ajwain Seeds

Bismillah, let's begin!

Ok, so this curry is great if you hate chopping, because the ginger, garlic, onions, and tomatoes are all blended up and not chopped!

Starting with the ginger and garlic. Take 1 large chunk Ginger and 7 Garlic Cloves. Give them both a peel.

Heat enough Vegetable Oil to cover the base of a large saucepan over medium heat. As you'll see later, I had to move my curry into a bigger pan so be sure to start with a big one!

Blend the ginger and garlic with a little water until smooth and add to the pan.

Let it cook gently while you ...

... blend up 2 peeled and roughly chopped Onions with a little water until smooth. Add the paste to the pan. 

Let it cook gently and at the same time, grab your spices from the cupboard.

We'll be using the main spice suspects. The only one that is slightly different is this - ajwain seeds (carom seeds).

Add to the pan:

1 and 1/2 teaspoons Salt

1 and 1/2 teaspoons Red Chilli Powder

1 heaped teaspoon Ground Cumin

2 teaspoons Ground Coriander

1/2 teaspoon Ground Turmeric

1 level teaspoon Ajwain Seeds (Carom Seeds)

Give them a good stir in and let them cook gently.

Whilst you blend up 2 Tomatoes until smooth.

Stir them in.

Next, the chicken. Today, we'll be using 1 Whole Chicken, cut up into pieces. It should be on the bone but without its skin.

Add the chicken into the pan.

And, give it a stir to combine. It was at this point that I realised my pan may be too small. 😟

But I kept going! And covered my pan with a lid, leaving the curry to cook over the lowest heat for 30 minutes.

This is what the curry looked like after 30 minutes of cooking.

Time for the courgettes! I used 3 Courgettes.


Which I cut into chunks and added to the pan. You can peel the courgette, if you prefer.

And, it was at this point that I admitted defeat. My pan was too small!

Aaah! Much better!

Stir in the courgettes.

Before covering the pan with a lid and letting the curry cook over a low heat for 30 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.

Uncover after 30 minutes and give the sauce a stir fry until you're happy with its consistency. We kept ours quite saucy. 

Finish the curry with a large handful of Fresh Coriander, finely chopped.

Stir in the coriander before covering the pan for a final 5 minutes.

And, we're done!

Serve the curry garnished with more fresh coriander and with boiled rice.

Chicken and Courgette Curry.

a chicken curry for Summer vegetables.

Prep Time: About 10 minutes.

Cook Time: About 1 hour and 25 minutes.

Serves: About 4 people.

Ingredients

Vegetable Oil, as needed

1 large chunk Ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

7 Garlic Cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

2 Onions, peeled and roughly chopped

1 and 1/2 teaspoons Salt

1 and 1/2 teaspoons Red Chilli Powder

1 heaped teaspoon Ground Cumin

2 teaspoons Ground Coriander

1/2 teaspoon Ground Turmeric

1 level teaspoon Ajwain Seeds (Carom Seeds)

2 Tomatoes

1 Whole Chicken, cut into pieces, skinless but with bone

3 Courgettes, cut into rough chunks

Handful Fresh Coriander, finely chopped

Cook the chicken:

• Blend the ginger and garlic with a little water until smooth. Heat enough vegetable oil to cover the base of a large saucepan, over medium heat. Add the paste and stir fry.
• Blend the onions with a little water until smooth. Add to the pan. 
• Stir in the salt, red chilli powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground turmeric, and ajwain seeds. 
• Blend the tomatoes until smooth and add to the pan. Stir in the chicken before covering the pan with a lid and cooking over the lowest heat for 30 minutes.

Add the courgettes and finish the curry:

• Uncover and add the chopped courgettes. Cover and cook again for 30 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.
• Uncover and stir fry the curry until the oil rises to the surface and you're happy with the sauce.
• Finish by stirring in the chopped fresh coriander. Cover the pan for a final 5 minutes before serving the curry with fresh roti.

Keep me in your duas please, and enjoy your curry!

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!