Chicken and Brinjal Curry

I curry most of my meals, it's the natural for me to cook this way, and it blends in with the family and extended family meals when we eat together, among those that are not following my lifestyle change.

The amazing aspect of Indian cuisine is that most of our meals are cooked with ghee, which has been replaced by the masses with the cheaper processed and refined sunflower oil, which ultimately leads to the high cholesterol and high blood pressure and diabetes as well as heart disease so prevalent in the Indian community.  As a family, we try to cook with olive oil often normally.  Many find that the pure, unprocessed ghee is too rich tasting for their palates - well they would of course, as their curries are accompanied with either basmati or long grained rice or roti.  The hue of a good curry should never be too yellow -which is caused by the overload of turmeric powder, which also gives the curry a bitter taste. A reddish orange colour is what you are after, which represents a good blend of the curry masala's is what makes a truly good tasting curry.  The powdered spices may be adjusted to suit varying tastes, and generally, if making a curry with 500g of meat or veggies, not more than half a teaspoon of turmeric powder should be used. Pure spices should be used as the ready mixed masala's generally have amounts of wheat-based flours, sugar and preservatives added to them. 

On my day off work today, surveying the offerings of my fridge and feeling like a good authentic curry, I decided to try out a chicken breast and brinjal mix.  Always preferring chicken with bone in a curry, I realised that the chicken breasts that were part of the month end contents would just have to be a good substitute.  The brinjals in this recipe replace the normal chicken and potato curry that I was raised on.  Baby marrow, cauliflower or sweet potato will also make a good substitute for normal spuds.

Ingredients

3x 100g chicken breasts
1 large brinjal cut into large cubes and soaked in salted water for 15 minutes
2 tblsp ghee or olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
1 medium tomato, grated
1-2 tsp freshly ground garlic and ginger
1-2 fresh green chillies, slivered (optional)
Sprig of fresh curry leaves
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1-2 cardamom pods
1/2 cinnamon stick
1-2 tsp pure chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp garam masala (optional)
1 tsp roasted madras masala (optional)
Himalayan or Sea salt to taste
Fresh coriander for garnish

Here's How

• Add ghee or olive oil to a medium sized pot and allow to heat through, adding the cumin, fennel seeds, cardamom pods and cinnamon stick, bringing this to a sizzle.
• Add the chopped onion, curry leaves and green chilli and cook until the onions are soft and translucent.
• Thereafter add the garlic and ginger and the powdered spices and mix well.  Allow this to cook for 2-3 minutes.
• The chicken and brinjal is added now, mixing well to coat all the ingredients together.
• Add in the grated tomato and a quarter to half cup boiling water, salt to taste.  Cover the pot with its' lid and allow the curry to cook for 20 minutes until the brinjals have softened and the chicken is cooked through.  A thick gravy will have formed.
• Serve with a fresh salad and cauliflower rice or naan bread, if preferred.