Chicken Breast and Bell Pepper Island Curry for Summer, made with SN4

A curry that simmers chicken breast — the cut that is easiest to pick up at the shop — in the sweetness of a southern island. Breast meat turns tough once the moisture leaves it, so it is marinated in yoghurt for just 30 minutes before use, and the simmering stops at 10 minutes. The 15 minutes it takes to bring the onion to amber is the longest step; once you are past it the rest is quick.

Spice Curry SN4 is a blend of 12 spices and 2 fruits. What comes first on the ingredient list is not a spice but a fruit, and that sweet aroma is the foundation of the curry. So it suits the dish to add the salt sparingly and build it up at the end. The red and yellow bell peppers are here as summer vegetables that lean in the same sweet direction.

Time required: about 70 minutes (including 30 minutes marinating in yoghurt)

Ingredients (serves 4)

• SN4 / starter spices (the bag of whole spices): 1 bag
• SN4 / powder spices (the bag of ground spices): 1 bag
• Chicken breast 300g
• Onion 1
• Bell pepper (red) 1
• Bell pepper (yellow) 1
• Garlic 2 tsp (roughly 1–2 cloves, grated)
• Ginger 2 tsp (roughly 1–2 pieces, grated)
• Canned tomatoes 400g, 1 can (whole tomatoes are our suggestion; tomato purée also works)
• Coconut milk 200ml
• Water 200ml
• Salt 1 tsp (1/2 tsp for the onion, the rest for adjusting at the end)
• Oil 3 tbsp (use whichever oil you prefer; for this recipe we suggest rice bran oil or white sesame oil)
• Yoghurt (unsweetened) 3 tbsp (for the marinade)
• Water 1 tbsp (for the marinade)
• Salt 1/3 tsp (for the marinade)

Preparation

1. Grate the garlic, then the ginger, in that order. If you have no grater, chop them finely.
2. Slice the onion thinly, across the grain.
3. Remove the stem and seeds from the bell peppers and cut them into 2cm strips.
4. Skin the chicken breast and cut it across the grain into 1.5cm-thick slices on the diagonal. Put it in a bowl, add the yoghurt: 3 tbsp, water: 1 tbsp and salt: 1/3 tsp, work it in well and leave it in the fridge for 30 minutes. Yoghurt alone leaves lumps, so be sure to add the water so it coats evenly.
5. Take the cherry out of the starter spices (the bag of whole spices), chop it finely and return it to the bag. Chopping the cherry finely helps it blend into the curry.

Method

1. Put the oil: 3 tbsp in a pan over low heat, add the grated garlic and ginger and cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
2. Add the onion and salt: 1/2 tsp, stir them thoroughly together, then turn the heat to high and cook for about 15 minutes until amber, splashing in water frequently as you go.

   How far you cook the onion changes the finished dish more than anything else. “It came out watery”, “the tomato tastes too sharp”, “it lacks depth” — the single biggest cause of all three is moving on to the next step before the onion has gone amber. Cook it for a full 12 to 15 minutes and keep going until it is properly amber.
   The points are
   · keep the heat at medium to high
   · spread the onion evenly across the pan and leave it, then stir; spread it evenly and leave it again, then stir — and repeat
   · whenever you stir and feel something catching on the base of the pan, splash in a little water (in our experience, about 2 tbsp of water each time, roughly five times in all)
   Splashing in water carries the savour the onion releases through the whole pan and keeps it from catching while it turns amber. Letting it colour just enough to need a splash of water is, if anything, exactly what draws the flavour out.

3. Once the onion is amber, switch to medium heat, add the SN4 starter spices (the bag of whole spices) and cook them briefly.
4. Add the marinated chicken breast: 300g along with its marinade and sear it for about 2 minutes, until the surface changes colour.
5. Add all of the powder spices and work them through, thinking of it as cooking the powder itself through.
6. Push the ingredients to one side, add the canned tomatoes: 400g, crush the whole tomatoes thoroughly, then stir everything together.
7. Add the bell peppers, coconut milk: 200ml and water: 200ml; once it comes to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Chicken breast turns tough if overcooked, so do not go beyond 10 minutes.
8. Finally, taste and adjust the salt. Adding it a pinch at a time until it is seasoned the way you like it is what makes the difference.

Inspice spice curry spice sets contain none of the chilli, cayenne or red pepper that usually carries the heat, so add as much as you like to suit your taste.