Magenta Red Curry

We have really been hitting curries hard over the past few days. We had a great curry night at George's on Thursday, went to the fabulous Vatika Restaurant for lunch on Friday, then whacked up a curry for ourselves Friday night. And you know, I still don't think I've worked it out of my system... I love 'em!

This was a special curry in that Vanessa was responsible for all of the cooking. I just did the prep work, that's it. This was pretty good, too! The beets added kind of an interesting sweet-ish note while obviously coloring the whole dish. And, as always, we only use fresh, corn-fed, free-range chicken because you CAN taste the difference.

Vanessa also made up some Turmeric Rice, which is referred to in an earlier post and has since become a staple rice to be made alongside of of Indian meals.

Enjoy!

1 dried red chile
1 onion
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 plump garlic cloves
50 g piece fresh ginger
750 g boneless chicken
1 tablespoon ground coriander
200 g Greek-style natural yogurt
2 raw beetroot
1 small lemon
salt

Place the chile in a cup and just cover with boiling water. Leave to soak while you peel and finely chop the onion. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or similarly wide-based saucepan placed over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and fry, stirring occasionally, for 6-7 minutes until soft and golden.

Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the garlic. Peel the ginger and slice thinly into small scraps. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Remove the chilli from its soaking water. Split it lengthways, scrape away the seeds and chop into tiny pieces. Stir the garlic, ginger and chile into the softened onion and cook for a further 3-4 minutes. Add the ground coriander and fry for a further 30 seconds. Increase the heat slightly, add the chicken to the pan and stir-fry for 5 or 6 minutes until all the pieces have turned from pink to white. Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and stir in the yogurt. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan - use a double fold of foil if your pan doesn't have a lid - and cook for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, use a potato peeler to peel the beetroot and grate them on the large hole of a cheese grater directly into a small saucepan. Add 300 ml water and the juice of half the lemon and cook, partially covered, for 10-15 minutes until the beetroot is tender. Tip the beetroot and water into the chicken. Stir thoroughly and cook, uncovered, for a further 5-10 minutes until the curry is thick and all the flavors amalgamated. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and lemon juice. This curry reheats perfectly.