This curry is an interesting combination of Anglo-Indian and Thai flavours. I associate the mix of lemongrass, coconut milk, and fish sauce with Thai cuisine and would have expected them to be combined with a Thai curry paste. This recipe takes a different route by adding a large amount of Madras-style curry powder -- an Indian-inspired British spice blend -- instead. It made for a nice, if unusual, result.

I mostly followed the recipe here. My only slight deviation was to swap out the skinless, bone-in chicken thighs for skinless, boneless chicken breasts. I also sliced the breasts in half lengthwise in order to speed up cooking time. I'm pretty happy with the results this produced. The final curry was a bit soupy, but very nice when served over a bit of brown rice.

Chicken and Coconut Milk Curry

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1.25kg skinless boneless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 shallots, chopped
• 3 Tbsp. Madras-style curry powder
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 2 stalks lemongrass, cut into 2cm chunks (white part only)
• 3cm piece of fresh ginger, sliced
• 1 c. chicken stock
• 1 (400mL) can coconut milk
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into large dice
• 1 (~350g) sweet potato, peeled and cut into large dice
• 3 Tbsp. Thai basil, chiffonade

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add chicken and cook for ~4 minutes per side. (You may have to work in batches.)
3. Remove chicken and set aside, then add garlic and shallots and cook for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add curry powder, sugar, pepper, lemongrass, and ginger and cook for 30-60 seconds.
5. Add the chicken stock, coconut milk, and fish sauce and bring to a boil.
6. Add carrots, sweet potato, and chicken and reduce heat to medium-low.
7. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until veggies are fork tender and chicken is cooked through.
8. Stir in basil and serve over rice.