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Preparation:.
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Put the ginger, chilies and water in a blender and puree until smooth.
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Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a saute pan or casserole large enough to hold all the ingredients.
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Saute the onions over low heat, stirring frequently for 20 to 30 minutes or until they are soft and golden.
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Add the garlic and the curry powder and stir.
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Saute for about 2 more minutes.
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Add the chili-ginger mixture and yogurt and season to taste with salt and pepper.
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This is the base sauce for your curry.
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Heat the remaining oil in a saute pan large enough to hold the chicken pieces in one layer or use a smaller pan and cook the chicken in batches.
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Saute the chicken for about 3 minutes on each side, or until it is browned.
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
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Add the browned chicken to the curry base and stir to combine.
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Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
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Put the cashews on a baking sheet and roast them in the oven for about 10 minutes or until golden and toasted.
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You dont have to stir them.
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Just before serving the curry, add the Garam Masala, the optional lemon juice, the cilantro and the cashews.
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Stir to combine and heat through for another 5 minutes.
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Assembly:.
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Spoon some curry onto each of 4 warm dinner plates.
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Place a large spoonful of rice in the center of each plate.
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Serve with the chutney and mint raita on the side (recipes follow).
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Basmati Rice.
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Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan.
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Add the rice, salt and lemon peel.
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Bring back to a boil, stirring to combine.
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Lower the heat and cover.
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Simmer over a very low flame for about 14 minutes or until the rice is tender.
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Uncover the rice and stir with a fork to plump the rice and separate the grains.
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Mint Raita:.
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If you have time, put the yogurt in a cheese cloth-lined colander and drain it in the refrigerator for at least one hour, preferably more.
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This will produce a thick yogurt, which when mixed with the cucumber will produce a thicker and less watery raita.
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Squeeze the grated cucumber very well between your fingers to drain it.
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This prevents the raita from being too watery.
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Mix the cucumber with the yogurt, cumin and mint.
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Season to taste with salt and pepper.
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Noras Note:.
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Raita means yogurt salad in India and it is often served with curries because it is a cooling accompaniment.
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Apricot Chutney:.
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Put the onion, ginger, apricots, sugar, vinegar, water, curry powder, cardamom and cinnamon in a medium saucepan.
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Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the chutney takes on the consistency of a jam.
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Stir the chutney from time to time to prevent it from burning.
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Cool.
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If you want a spicy chutney, add some minced chili pepper to the mixture.
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Noras Note:.
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If you buy good quality curry powder, you dont need to mix your own.
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Curry powder should have a complex flavor and you need many spices to achieve this effect.
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I often doctor a good curry powder to suit my needs.
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For example, for yogurt-based curry, I add more cardamom and ground coriander.
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For tomato-based curry, I add more cumin seeds and turmeric.
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Garam Masala:.
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Garam Masala is a hot Indian spice mixture that is added at the end of cooking to mellow the flavors.
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It contains the following spices: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom and black pepper.
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To make about 1 cup of Garam Masala, grind the following in a blender: 25 cardamom pods, seeds only, 1/2 cup whole black peppercorns, 1/2 cup whole cumin seeds, 2 three-inch sticks of cinnamon, 4 to 6 whole cloves, 1/2 cup coriander seeds, 1 tablespoon ground mace and 6 to 8 bay leaves.
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If you want to reduce the heat of the Garam Masala, decrease the amount of black pepper.
