Massaman curry

Before you start

• about an hour, and the last of the seasoning goes in by taste rather than by spoon

Ingredients

Serves 2 · dimmer marks are storecupboard

• 260gchicken thighs — boneless, in big pieces
• 160mlcoconut milk
• 250gpotatoes — waxy — floury ones dissolve into the sauce
• 30gpeanuts
• 100gjasmine rice
• 3 tbspmassaman curry paste
• 1 tbsptamarind paste
• 1 tbsppalm sugar
• 1 tbspfish sauce
• 1onion
• 1 tspstar anise, cinnamon and cardamom
• 2bay leaves

Method

6 steps

1. fry · 9m

   The thick cream from the top of the tin into a heavy pan and the paste fried in it with the whole spices until the oil splits out and it smells of everything at once. The rest of the coconut milk waits.

2. simmer · 8m

   Chicken turned through the paste until it is coated and sealed on all sides, then the onion in wedges.

3. simmer · 30m

   The rest of the coconut milk, 200ml of water, the bay and the potatoes in whole or halved, lid ajar, at a lazy bubble until the potato gives to a knife and the chicken is cooked right through. Stirred rarely — moved about, the potatoes break up and thicken it to sludge.

4. boil · 15m walk away

   Rice rinsed and on, lid, lowest heat.

5. grill · 5m

   Peanuts toasted in a dry pan until they colour, then roughly crushed.

6. finish · 4m

   Tamarind, palm sugar and fish sauce in off the heat and tasted after each one. It should land sweet, then sour, then salty, with the spices behind all three. Peanuts over the top so they stay crisp, rice alongside.