Make your own truly authentic curry right here in Limousin

If you are like me you will undoubtably miss a good curry every now and then, not so easy to track down a good curry in this lovely region, so there is of course a good reason to go out, buy yourself a good selection of spices and have a go at making your own. I am lucky enough to have been involved with a number of indian restaurants and families in the UK and have enjoyed preparing indian food for the last 20 years.

Here is a simple dopiaza recipe tried and tested countless time and can be adapted to suit all tastes.

This recipe is from the Bengal region where people are very particular about there food, it uses a large amount of onion and has wonderful characteristics of both sweetness and spice.
Serves 4

1.Cut the chicken into 8 pieces, 4 breast portions and 4 leg portions, all on the bone with the skin removed. Cut 3 onions in half. Cut 2 onions into corse slices. Finally Grate the remaining 4 onions and extract the juice by squeezing through a piece of muslin or clean tea towel and discard the pulp.

2.Mix the chilli powder in a small bowl with a Tsp of water and put to one side. In a separate bowl whisk the yoghurt for 1 minute and put to one side.

3.Heat the oil in a heavy based pan and fry the chopped onions until golden brown, do not have the heat on high, cook over a medium heat stirring regularly this will take 15 to 20 mins. Remove from the pan and drain off the oil. Put the pan back on the heat with a little fresh oil and add the garlic & bay leaves cook slowly for 2 minutes until pungent. Add the cinnamon and cardamons and cook for a further 2 minutes then add the peppercorns, cloves and red chillies.

4.After a minute add the ginger, chilli paste you made earlier with the water, turmeric and stir continuously for 2 minutes to cook out the spices. Add your chicken and chopped tomatoes followed by the butter, yoghurt and sugar, cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes stirring often if you get bits sticking to the pot just add a little water and stir.

5.Now add the onion halves, followed by the onion juice and salt, add a little salt as you can add more later to your taste. Stir for 5 minutes. Transfer you cooking pot with a lid on to a preheated oven at 150°c / 325°F/ gas mark 5 and cook for 20-25 minutes with a lid on. After 20-25 mins remove and add half of the fried onion, and sprinkle over the Garam Masala powder, place back in the oven uncovered for 5 minutes and remove.Check the seasoning and reduce the sauce if needed on the hob. Just before serving sprinkle over the remaining fried onion and serve.

Serve with plain basmati rice or your own choice of rice.

Herbs and spices can be found on market stalls throughout Limousin or at one of the Asian supermarkets that can be found in the larger towns and cities such as

THOUNE ASIA
PLACE DE BEAUBREUIL
87280 LIMOGES
0555358106

You can find a translation of common herbs and spices from English to French here