Peter's Chicken Curry with Orange Cucumber Raita

I've now been making curries for a few years and learned with the help of the cookbook Curries Without Worries (Sudha Koul) and my girlfriend Lidia. My key ingredients....ghee - curry powder - ginger - fresh corriander...but use your imagination!
It's not that much more work to make the curry powder yourself - what I don't have pictured is tumeric....which is the bright yellow powder without much flavor that gives curry it's yellow color. Tumeric is usually sold in powder form but the rest of the spices you can roast in the oven for great flavor...fennel seeds...star anise...cumin seeds...corriander seeds...red pepper....bay leaf

I almost forgot coconut milk...it does make a difference.

I grind the spices the old fashioned way.

Have ja ever seen a ginger grater? This one I inherited from my dear old friend Bruce Kurtz.
It's ceramic and has tiny razor sharp teeth. Hold tight and run the peeled ginger back and forth.

There are all kinds of fancy garlic gadgets...I love my mushroom from Bennington a gift from my brother A.J. It's sole purpose is to smash garlic so you can get the skins off easily. I need to oil my shroom. A.J. is our family's most experienced restaurant chef....really!

Brown the chicken parts in hot ghee. Take them out and let them sit for a minute.

In the same ghee (remove some if you like to brown with a lot of oil - it should just cover the bottom of your pan) add onions, garlic, ginger, and the crushed spices and tumeric until just past golden, deglaze with a little white wine, then add the chicken, carrots, coconut milk... a peeled chopped potato or two if you want...lastly fresh chopped corriander. I use some chicken stock but I try never to add more than a cup. I'm not really into thickeners like corn starch but that's always an option. Over the years I've reduced the amount of stock and added an extra can of coconut milk and a potato...simmer on low for an hour and half or two. It's always better the next day.

I love to have a Raita with my curry...this is a peeled, deseeded grated cucumber mixed with yoghurt (sour cream if you want but you can skip it) mandarin oranges, fresh chopped corriander and a dash of salt. It's a great compliment to curry along with some chutney...see my recipe on this blog october 2009 green tomato chutney...yum!

I'll have to make a Razmah soon...also an excellent sideidish with curry...Sudha describes it as Kidney Beans for Kings.