I feel bad calling this a curry. Because this isn’t even close to a real curry… in fact, it’s an insult to the entire sub-continent of India to even suggest it is anything remotely like a curry, when the food culture of that country is so vibrant and flavourful.
It’s like when people say they got a curry in a chipper, when what they really got was rice, chips and chicken balls smothered in God awful curry sauce.
That my friends ain’t a curry.
This dish is what I call my mammy curry. It’s something my mum would have made for us when we were small and she would have called it a curry.
Times weren’t as exotic back then and I’m guessing most Irish households have a similar sort of recipe in their arsenal… and some of those might even involve adding raisins to said curry… bleugh. That used to be on offer in the school canteen and it put me off curries for a very long time.
This recipe is a raisin free zone and you can play around with the heat depending on how hot you like it.
Ingredients
2 chicken breasts, diced
1 tub crème fraiche
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
1 pack of chestnut mushrooms, chopped
1 large shallot finely diced
½ chicken stock cube
Handful of frozen peas
1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
1 Tsp Sundried Tomato Paste
1-2 Tbsp Madras Curry Powder or Medium Curry Powder
A shake of chili powder
Method
First, add the curry powder to the chicken with a splash of oil and allow to marinate in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.
Then fry off the chicken and leave aside.
Fry off the shallot and mushrooms in a pan and add in the garlic.
Throw the chicken back in and add in the crème fraiche, a splash of water and the stock cube.
Allow to come together and then add in the tomato paste and the shake of chili powder.
Allow it all to simmer gently until it becomes as thick as you’d like it.
Throw in the peas at the last minute and then serve with some rice.