Curry Chicken

This is a variation of my mum's curry chicken (she's Chinese) - I've made it GFCF and healthier than the original. Also it freezes and re-heats well and only takes 1 pot to cook it in! (perfect for people who might be as lazy as I am with cooking)


Serves 4-6 people (serve alone or with steamed rice)



Ingredients:

8-10 Medium to Large Chicken drumsticks

2 large onions (brown or white - brown is better)

5-6 carrots

1 garlic clove (the more the better!)

GFCF curry powder - I usually use "Keens"

GF Soy sauce



GF Tomato sauce

Sesame Oil

Extra light olive oil for cooking

1 can Canelli beans

1 can Chick Peas

1 can Lentils

Chilli powder (optional)



4 medium potatoes (optional - I usually don't include them because they are "empty calories")

GFCF thickener (optional - I rarely use it... Lupin8 powder works well if you want to use something GF and CF)


GFCF chicken stock cubes

1 very large cooking pot (preferably non-stick)



Preparation:

- Peel carrots and potatoes (if using potato) and remove ends of carrots. Chop into bite sized pieces...

- Peel and chop garlic (not overly fine - 0.5cm - 1cm in diameter should be fine - not too thick -> max thickness 2mm - preferably less)
- Heat Olive oil and 2 tablespoons sesame oil in pot
- Peel Onions and then chop into pieces (do not dice - having little 'segments' like arcs is quite nice in the end!)

- Drain excess liquid from around Canelli beans, Chick peas, and lentils... Place these items into a large clean empty container.

- Wash each individual chicken drumstick in cool water and allow water to drain away before cooking!



Instructions:

- Once oil is heated in bottom of pot place chopped onion and garlic into pot and brown over medium heat (it should smell lovely)

- When onions are lightly brown add 3-4 tablespoons of curry powder to pot (add chille powder to taste at this time if desired for extra spiciness!)

- Stir well with wooden spoon ensuring onions and garlic do not burn and ingredients do not stick to pot.

- Add 3 tablespoons of tomato sauce and 1 tablespoon of GF soy sauce

- Throw bite sized pieces of carrot and potato into pot and stir well until all pieces are covered in "curry sauce". Allow carrots and potato to warm in pot for a couple of minutes.

- Add washed chicken drumstick to pot and stir well ensuring all drumsticks are coated with mixture. Add chicken stock cube at this point if you choose to use one. (If you are my mum you might add a touch of sugar here - maybe 2 tablespoons - I personally prefer not to add sugar)

- Stir in Beans, Chick peas, and Lentils. You will need a large wooden spoon... The mixture in the pot gets very heavy at this point.

- As with the chicken, ensure the beans, lentils and chick peas etc are well covered by the curry mixture. There should be naturally some extra liquid moisture in the pot by now from these beans etc. If you wish for a thicker batch, add your GFCF thickener now to taste (3 tablespoons should be the maximum because the beans and stuff actually thicken the mixture a bit too!)

- Keep stiring mixture for a few minutes mixing thoroughly!

- Turn heat down to low-medium (easier on a gas stove - if you have to use electric then have another hot-plate heated to a lower temperature for better control with cooking!)

- Once liquid around vegetables, beans and chicken etc is simmering, place lid on pot and allow to cook for approximately 15-20 minutes. Chicken is cooked when the 'tendons' on the drumsticks pop up away from the bone... If you're not sure just pull out a drumstick and peel away some of the flesh with a knife to check it's white and not blood-stained pink... It doesn't have to be a "dry white" - it's ok to leave it a bit succulent - makes it much tastier!

Serve with steamed rice or alone!  (Brown or jasmine rice grains work well!)
 
Enjoy!