Chicken Red Curry (Bangladesh style)

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds boneless chicken pieces (breast or thigh)
• 6 large garlic cloves
• large piece of fresh ginger root (2½ x ½ inch; 6 x 1 cm)
• 2 Roman tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 - 4 teaspoons of cayenne pepper powder
• 3 teaspoons coriander
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
• ¾ teaspoon garam masala powder (pan roasted 2 teaspoons cumin, 4 teaspoons coriander, 1 teaspoon cardamom, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon cloves, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 2 teaspoons turmeric, 2 teaspoons of allspice, 2 teaspoons ginger, 2 bay leaves; grind & blend well). There are many regional masala variations, several can be found here
• 1 teaspoon vinegar

Instructions:

• purée the garlic, ginger, tomatoes, tomato paste, and cumin seeds in blender
• heat the oil in a cooking pot, and fry the onions until lightly colored
• add the chile powder, after 5 seconds, add ¼ cup of water, stir well
• bring to a boil
• add the coriander and turmeric powder, stir continuously for 1 minute
• add the garam masala powder and sprinkle with a litle water
• stir well, amd sauté for 1 minute
• add the chicken and about 1 teaspoon salt
• sauté the chicken in the soices for 5 minutes
• after 3 minutes, add the tomato mixture and stir
• after 2-3 minutes, add 1½ - 2 cups of water or chicken stock or clear chicken broth
• leave to cook until done
• add vinegar and simmer for 1 minute
• if the souce is too thin, remove the chicken and boil down to desired thickness, then put chicken back in (the original recipe calls for 3 cups of water or broth, but that was too thin for us).
• serve with basmati rice
• serves 4
• freezes well. [recipe by Lidia Bastianich]