Chicken and Vegetables Curry

Could not decide what to cook for lunch, was chatting with my friend in Tasmania and she suggested curry. I cooked chicken curry for her when she visited me last July. So, I followed her suggestion. I cooked chicken curry with leftover veggies and prawn, not the cooked veggies but small amount of raw veggies leftover from cooking other dish. Used chicken breast meat which I don't usually do as Tak loves fatty meat or chicken.

If you are also a curry lover, I would recommend you to try Malaysian curry which made with Malaysian curry powder of course, I prefer Babas or Parrot brand (less than AU$3.00 per 200g packet). I am happy with the curry cooked with only curry powder I mentioned and no other herbs or spices added. Try not to use those premixed curry sauce, I know it is tempting. It is so easy to cook curry from scratch with curry powder and most importantly, it is without (or with minimum?) preservatives.

Here is my simple curry recipe, you may add curry leaves (I can't find any here), lemongrass and star anise for spicier taste. Please ignore the prawn. I got a few leftover so all in a pot for one person's meal.

Ingredients (3-4 servings):

2 tbsp cooking oil (reduce the amt if you use non-stick pan)

1 small onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

3 tbsp curry powder (add 1 tbsp water to make paste)

300g boned chicken, cubed

1 large potato, peeled and cubed

1 medium carrot, cubed

1 large tomato, cubed

150g pumpkin, cubed (optional)

1-2 cup water

Salt to taste

1/2 cup coconut milk (I used 1/4 cup thicken cream)

Sprig of chervil for garnish

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a medium size pot over low heat, sauté onion and garlic for about 1 minute.
2. Stir in the curry paste, keep stirring until the paste is separated with the oil or the aroma is released. This step is very important, it brings out the curry taste.
3. Add in the chicken and stir fry until the surface is cooked.
4. Add in carrot, tomato, potato and pumpkin. Stir to coat with curry and cook for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add in the water and bring to boil. Add salt to taste and let it simmer until all veggies are cooked.
6. Stir in the coconut milk and remove from heat.
7. Garnish with chervil and serve warm with steamed rice or baguette.