Nepali chicken curry with potato rosti

(serves 6)

In preparation for the big upcoming trip to Nepal, we had an information session over lunch at St Barny's in Bossley Park. This was an exciting way to get everyone to know a little bit more about the team going and what we would be doing there. So to get everyone into the Nepali spirit, Paul and I attempted some amateur Nepali chicken curry and dal baht. I haven't tasted authentic Nepali cuisine yet, so I'm sure there's room for improvement, but here's attempt #1! 
Nepali food is supposed to be a mix between Indian and Tibetan food, and the process of reading and collecting new spices and ingredients from the Indian Bazaar has been an adventure in itself and despite the whole place smelling like curry and some intense scrubbing to get turmeric stains off ~ I'm pretty excited about Nepali food! Only one month to go!

Prep time: 20 min

Cooking time: 60 min (or up to 2hrs if larger batches)

Ingredients:

2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp cardamon seeds (or 6-8 cardamon pods)

4 cloves

2 bay leaves

1 cinnamon stick

1 large onion

1 kg chicken

1 T garlic, finely chopped

1 T ginger, finely diced

2 medium tomatoes 

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 T cumin powder

1 T coriander powder

1 tsp red chilli powder (optional)

2 potatoes

2 T mustard oil
2 T vegetable oil

salt

coriander or shallots, finely chopped, to garnish

For the potato rosti;

4 potatoes

salt

Method:

1. Prepare the chicken by cutting into bite-size pieces and toss through with 1 tsp salt. Finely dice the onion and the tomatoes. Cut the potato into 2cm cubes.

2. Heat a pot with 1 T mustard oil on medium-high heat, add in cumin seeds, cardamon seeds/pods, cloves, bay leaves and cinnamon stick and toss for 15-30 sec until aromas are released. Quickly add in the onions, stir quickly for 2-3 minutes, then add in the ginger and garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

3. Add in 1 T mustard oil, then add in the chicken and lightly brown. Add in 1 tsp turmeric, 1 T cumin powder, 1 T coriander powder, chilli powder, salt and the tomatoes. Bring to the boil then simmer covered for 10-15min.

NB. The oil should start to separate from the curry sauce.

4. Add in 300mL boiling water, then add in the potatoes and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the lid, season the curry with salt and extra cumin seeds and mustard oil if needed and gradually reduce to a thicker consistency. 

5. Meanwhile, wash, peel and shred the potato. Season generously with salt. Heat a frypan on medium heat, add in 1/2 T vegetable oil then put in half the potato mixture and press flat. Pan-fry each side on medium heat for 5-10min or until brown. Remove and fry up the second pancake.

NB. It's a good idea to season the shredded potato with salt as you shred each one, as the oxidisation of the potato leads to it going pink and releasing excess water.

6. To garnish, fry up an extra 1T of cumin seeds on medium heat for 30 sec in 1/2 T mustard oil, drizzle over the top of the curry and sprinkle with a handful of shallots/coriander. Serve the curry with rice, potato pancake (my favourite!) or naan.