Kashmiri Chicken Curry is one of those ‘marmite’ type of curries. Some people find the thought of fruit in a curry abhorrent. My youngest son on the other hand can’t get enough of Kashmiri Chicken Curry or Banana Curry, as he calls it!
It’s not something I would order myself from a restaurant or takeaway but must admit a little bit with a nice hot curry is quite nice.
So seems as our youngest asked for this curry for a birthday meal, I thought I would see if I could cook it more to my taste.
The problem I find with the takeaway versions is that they are too mild and overly sweet, not to mention a little insipid.
So, a little extra Kashmiri chilli for a nice background heat, some tamarind and lemon juice to balance the sweetness, some toasted desiccated coconut and almonds for texture and a maraschino cherry, well, just for a bit of fun! Although it does taste good!
I did cook another curry on the day as I didn’t want to subject everybody to the Kashmiri Chicken Curry. I must admit though, I really enjoyed it!
Don’t forget, you can buy the curry masalas used in the following recipe from www.omemade.co.uk
For more indepth details on the differnt types of curry gravy have a look at our Easy Curry Sauce post.
Kashmiri Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken & Marinade
- 700 g chicken breast cut into 1'' chunks
- 1 tsp chaat masala
- 3 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tbsp plain natural yoghurt
Reverse Hybrid Base Gravy
- 2 medium onions, sliced
- 3 tbsp oil or ghee
- ½ small carrot, finely diced
- 2 large cloves of garlic, chopped
- 2 tsp chopped fresh ginger
- ¼ green pepper diced
- 2 tsp 'Ome Made Hotel Gravy Masala Or 1 tsp of mild curry powder and 1 tsp of garam masala
- 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 300 ml water
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tbsp coriander stalks, chopped (optional)
Caramelised Banana
- 3 bananas, sliced
- 40 g unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp dark brown soft sugar
- 1 tbsp Tamarind sauce
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Kashmiri Curry
- 4 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp garlic/ginger paste
- 1 tbsp 'Ome Made B.I.R Masala or mix powder/curry powder of your choice.
- 1 tbsp tomato puree diluted to the consistency of passata
- 2 tbsp plain natural yoghurt
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 tbsp fresh coriander chopped
- 2 tbsp toasted, unsweetened desiccated coconut
- 2 tbsp toasted, flaked almonds
- 12 maraschino cocktail cherries
Instructions
Marinate The Chicken
- Put the chicken in a bowl with the chaat masala, Kashmiri chilli powder and yoghurt. Mix well and leave to marinate for a couple of hours or overnigh in the fridge.
Curry Gravy
- Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Once hot add the onions and fry on a gentle heat, stirring occasionally until they are light brown in colour.
- Add the diced carrot to the onion. Continue to cook on a slightly higher heat, stirring often to prevent the mixture sticking and burning. Once the onions have turned a deep brown colour, turn the heat down.
- Add the garlic, ginger and green pepper and cook for around 40 seconds.
- Add the Hotel Masala and cook for around 40 seconds
- Add the tinned tomatoes and water and bring to the simmer. Cook gently for around 40 minutes.
- Let cool slightly and blitz 'till smooth with an immersion blender.
Caramelised Bananas
- Melt the butter in a non-stick pan. Once melted add the sugar, tamarind sauce and lemon juice. Once bubbling add the banana, gently turn the banana to coat in the syrup. Once the syrup is nice and thick and coating the banana, turn off the heat and transfer the banana and syrup to a heatproof bowl.
The Curry
- Heat the oil in a pan, once hot add the garlic and ginger paste. Cook gently for around 40 seconds.
- Add the Curry masala and cook, stirring for 30 – 40 seconds.
- Add the tomato paste and reduce to a thick paste on a medium heat.
- Add the chicken and marinade and stir to coat with the paste. cover with a lid and let cook for 10 minutes
- Take off the lid and add the curry gravy. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 15 minutes.
- Add the yoghurt and stir in. Bring back to the simmer, add the salt and cook for a further 10 minutes.
- Stir in some of the banana and syrup, saving some for putting on the top when plating up, if you wish. Add the coriander and stir in. Heat for a further 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
- Plate up the curry, garnishing it with the toasted coconut, almonds and cherries.
If you have a go at this, don’t forget to post it to social media, We’d love to see it. If you’re a curry fan, check out UK Curry Group on Facebook.