When I was a child, I doubt curry would have been on the menu for many if any picky eaters. Now though, possibly in an effort to keep up with their peers, it seems that a mild curry is often a will eat. It seems too that there is some street cred to be had in the “who can eat the hottest curry” competition – I work on the premise that you can add but can’t take away with curry spice though.
It’s been called curry castle and rice moat in our house for as long as I can remember and I don’t now know where the name came from, it may have been something from my own childhood. It doesn’t usually get served as a castle and moat though. For the purposes of this recipe, and just to try to be a bit flashy, I have actually found a castle shaped cookie cutter to make a curry castle. To do this, I placed the cookie cutter on the plate, then wedged the cooked rice around it, spooned the curry inside the cutter and then carefully removed it.
A friend called me in a state of apoplexy one day asking how I managed to get the chicken to stack up like a castle – she’d been trying all afternoon as her daughter had asked for the dish by my name for it. I couldn’t help laughing as I explained that I just serve the rice round the edge of the plate in a circular “moat” and dollop the curry in the middle – it’s just our name for curry and rice!
I often do curry in the slow cooker so all I have to do when we all get in is prepare the rice. With this recipe, I don’t even need to worry about any other accompaniments as the veg are stealthily hidden in the curry itself!
For the rice, I use a normal mug full of dry rice for 4 people. Put the rice in a lidded pan and cover with two of the same sized mugs full of freshly boiled water and add a knob of butter. Bring back to a simmer then cover and cook over a low to medium heat for about ten minutes or until all the water has absorbed and the rice is cooked. If the water all disappears before the rice has cooked add a little at a time – about 25ml – until the rice is tender.
A good tip with making rice in advance is to drain it and hold it in a strainer/sieve under cold running water until it is cool throughout – this stops it cooking and turning to a mush. You can then pop it into a bowl and cover it and refrigerate to heat up later. Don’t keep cooked rice in the fridge for more than a day though – it can be a breeding ground for nasty bacteria. To reheat, simply put it back in the sieve and pour over boiling water.
For the curry: (serves 6)
2 tablespoons rapeseed oil
800g filleted chicken thighs
1 large onion, finely chopped
250g can of white beans
250g steamed cauliflower
2 tablespoons plain flour
250g can of chopped tomatoes
4 tablespoons ground almonds
4 tablespoons coriander
1 tablespoon cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder (or more to your taste)
½ teaspoon allspice
2 cloves garlic crushed
1cm cube ginger, finely chopped or grated
2 tablespoons turmeric
2 tablespoons garam masala
1 teaspoon tamarind paste (use Worcestershire sauce if you don’t have tamarind)
200g block of creamed coconut
1. In a flame proof casserole, heat the oil and gently fry the onion, ginger and garlic.
2. Using a slotted spoon to allow the oil to drain back into the pan, transfer to a food processor and blend to a fine puree together with the cauliflower and white beans.
3. Brown the chicken gently in the remaining oil for about 5 minutes.
4. Mix together the remaining dry ingredients and then add to the pan with the chicken and continue to cook gently for a further 5 minutes
5. Add the canned tomatoes and the puree and bring to a gentle simmer.
6. Add the creamed coconut and stir through until it has dissolved into the sauce.
7. Add 250ml of hot water and bring back to the boil.
8. Cover and transfer to the oven (or put the lot into your slow cooker) and cook at 130C for 2 hours, checking and stirring occasionally.
