Recipes Mauritius Island Food

Chicken Curry with - Basmati Rice

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium sized onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons garam masala
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (or chili powder to taste)
3 teaspoons curry powder
1 pound chicken meat (light and dark can be used), diced into 1 - inch cubes
2 - 3 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups chicken stock or water
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
salt
1/4 cup plain yogurt (optional)

for the boiled basmati rice
4 - 5 cups of water
salt
1 1/2 cups of basmati rice

Heat the oil in a large skillet with high sides or a Dutch oven.
Add the onion, garlic, ginger and cook until onion is soft and translucent.
Add the cumin, coriander, garam masala, chili powder, turmeric, salt and curry powder. Cook on medium low heat for 5-10 minutes. This cooks out the bitterness from the curry. Add the chicken cubes . . . . . . . . and brown uniformly on all sides. Add bay leaves. Gradually add 1 and ½ cups of chicken stock or water. Stir well and bring liquid to boil. Cover the pan and simmer on low heat for about an hour until the meat is cooked through, tender and until the sauce thickens to form a rich gravy. Add water when necessary to avoid the curry drying up in the pan. Your goal is to cook the meat well and retain enough liquid to form a sauce. Adjust salt if necessary. Optionally you may add 1/4 cup of plain yogurt if you like, stirring well into the mixture. preparing the Basmati Rice

In large pot bring water to boil. Add approximately 1 teaspoon of salt. Put basmati rice in a sieve and rinse thoroughly under cold running water.
Transfer the rice into the boiling water and stir to prevent rice sticking from to bottom of the pot. Boil for about 15 minutes. Rice is ready when it is just soft to chew throughout. Drain rice in sieve and rinse again with hot water. Place in a serving dish to be served hot at once.
 
Transfer the chicken to the serving dish over the basmati rice and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
Serve the Chicken Curry together with
the lentils,
the spinach and watercress,
the tomato chutney,
and the cucumber chutney.