Kuku paka (African chicken and coconut curry)
This east African dish is one of the easiest "curries" you could ever make. Kuku is the Swahili word for chicken, and paka is the Bengali word for delicious.
Ingredients
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1kg chicken thigh fillets, cut into 5cm pieces
2 onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tbsp each of turmeric, cumin, coriander powder
1 tsp chilli powder
½ tsp salt
1 can diced tomatoes (400g)
1 can coconut milk (400ml)
juice of ½ a lemon
1 cup picked coriander leaves
Method
Heat the oil in a heavy pot over high heat and fry the chicken pieces two at a time until well browned, setting aside as you go. Reduce the heat to medium and add a little more oil to the pot if necessary. Fry the onions until they soften, add the garlic and ginger, and continue to fry until fragrant.
Add the turmeric, cumin, coriander, chilli and salt, and stir well to combine with the contents of the pot. Add the tomatoes and coconut milk, stir well, and return the chicken to the pot, covering with the rich curry sauce.
Bring the pot to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the chicken is very tender, about 15-20 minutes. If the sauce thickens a bit too much, add a little water.
To serve, squeeze the lemon juice over the curry and scatter with coriander leaves.
Serve with: Adam Liaw's cucumber, pineapple and chilli pickled salad
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Adam Liaw is a cookbook author and food writer, co-host of Good Food Kitchen and former MasterChef winner.
