It's Saturday morning, and a few minutes ago I've been told that we'll be having Curry tonight. What this translates to? Hm, me heading out the door mingling with another thousand or so people running errands. Darting across Viktualien-Market on the hunt for fresh bay leaves, coriander and chicken. Whoever had the pleasure of running into a grumpy Bavarian stand owner knows that this can become a challenge. (BTW I'm Bavarian myself ;)

Anyway, I'm not complaining. The outlook of a nice Indian dinner tonight prevails. The title of the post can be a bit misleading I have to admit, it should rather be: "In cases where you don't want to start from scratch and spend a good couple of hours in the kitchen for an out-of-this-world Curry, here is a quicker way, that get's reaaaally close" (The more elaborate version will follow soon). Too long, agreed? Roughly speaking, as a basis I use Korma Curry paste and refine it (also a bit of Madras for the marinade). I often experiment with the different spices in the sense of when to add them and how much. It all makes a difference. Let me know when you have your perfect "curry schedule".

First things first: Chop the onion, garlic and press the cardamom pods. If you have a thing for cardamom, you can also use the seeds directly. Cut the chicken into small cubes, I usually like them a little larger. For one it looks nicer and secondly I think the chicken will just be super tender. If I have enough time upfront, I sometimes marinate the chicken in a bit of vegetable oil & and a table spoon of Madras Curry paste.

Heat up pan and lightly sauté onions for a few minutes. Add tomato paste, then Korma Curry paste and the finely chopped garlic. The ginger root I usually just peel to the extent needed and then use it on a grater, the fibers I toss. Then add all spices except the fresh coriander, which we use for decoration. Stir and move onions and spices to the side of the pan, add a bit of butter and sauté chicken for a minute. To this point it shouldn't have taken more than approximately 6-7 minutes.

Then add coconut milk and about 1/2 as much water (amount of water also depends on how soft you want the rice to be). Stir and let simmer until done. Occasionally touch and taste, the longer you let the bay leaves, the cinnamon sticks and cardamom in the Curry, the richer the taste will become. Up to you. I like them in until it is served.

Take a cup of rice and one and half times as much water. I also like to add some salt as well as a pinch of curcuma. Bring to a boil and cover pot with lid after water has reached rice level (takes a minute or two). Well, before you actually close the lid, you can add a table spoon of butter. Then close lid, turn down heat to a minimum and 10 minutes from here and you're good to go!

Decorate with fresh coriander and serve while hot ;) Enjoy. O.