The best ever chicken curry

The SBS food site is one of my favs for interesting dishes from all over the place. I think their Indian selection of recipes is particularly good... Check out their chicken curry recipe from Sri Lanka below. I've made a few minor tweaks... This is seriously good, and you can use beef instead of chicken, although the cooking time may take a little longer. Also - if you think there's not enough liquid at first, don't add any additional water or tomatoes as you will be surprised how much you get out of the tomato and meat.   

Ingredients 

1.5kg chicken thigh cutlets 

2 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil 

¼ tsp fenugreek seeds 10 curry leaves (fresh are best) 

2 large onions, finely chopped 

4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped 

2 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated 

1 tsp turmeric powder 

1 tsp chilli powder (we use kashmiri) 

1 tbsp ground coriander 

½ tsp ground fennel 

1 tsp cumin 

2 tsp paprika 

2 tsp salt 

2 tbsp vinegar 

2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped 

6 cardamom pods, bruised 

1 stick cinnamon 

1 stalk lemon grass 

1 cup thick coconut milk 

Method 

Heat oil and fry fenugreek and curry leaves until they start to brown. 

Add onions, garlic and ginger and fry gently until onions are quite soft and transparent. 

Add turmeric, chilli, coriander, cumin, fennel, paprika, salt and vinegar and stir well. 

Add tomatoes, whole spices and lemon grass. 

Add chicken and stir over medium heat until chicken is thoroughly coated with spices. 

Cook, covered, over low heat for 35 minutes. 

Remove lid for another 10 mins until the chicken is tender. 

Add coconut milk, taste and add more salt and a squeeze of lemon juice if desired. 

Do not cover after adding coconut milk. 

 Serve with eggplant pickle, yoghurt/cucumber raita and poppadums.