Chicken with coconut and lemon

Looking for flavour packed mid week meal or weekend entertainer meal, this Thai inspired chicken curry meets all your requirements.  Try to use chicken thighs on the bone that way the chicken stays moist and gains flavour from being cooked on the bone.  Belinda Jeffrey has come up with another winner.

Ingredients


1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
2 onions, finely sliced
6 very large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh ginger
2 - 4 small red chillies, finely chopped
6 fat cardamom pods
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
5 teaspoons sweet paprika
3 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
1 medium-sized lemon, scrubbed and dried
1 x 140ml can coconut cream
1 x 400g can diced or crushed tomatoes
Sea salt, to taste
8 chicken chops or large whole chicken thighs (bone in)
Coriander or mint leaves, to garnish

Method

Preheat Oven to 180 degrees C

Heat oil and fry sliced onions, ginger and chillies, when soft and nearly cooked add the garlic, so it doesn't burn.  In a mortar and pestle or with the flat blade of a large knife, crush cardamom pods and remove black seeds, crush.  Add cardamom pods, paprika, turmeric and red curry paste to pan and cook for a few minutes further until paste is cooked off.
Arrange chicken pieces snuggly in a ceramic roasting dish, with fairly deep sides.
Remove skin and pith from lemon and dice into small pieces, add lemon, coconut cream, tin tomatoes and a little salt to the spice mixture and stir until well combined.

Pour mixture over chicken and cook in preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours or until chicken is cooked through.  After 40 minutes turn chicken over.  If the top of the chicken is browning too fast cover with foil.

Before serving scatter fresh coriander leaves over, best served with steamed rice and cucumber strips in yoghurt and steamed Asian vegetables or Thai salad.

Enjoy !

Mamma Marmalade