Iraqi-style chicken curry

It’s winter where I’m living. So, when I spotted a modestly priced colourful new cookbook of 100-plus curry dishes “from kitchens around the world” at my supermarket the other morning, I automatically popped a copy into my supermarket trolley. Curry is the ultimate in paradoxical dishes: it cools you down in the summer, and keeps you warm in the cold season.

In the circumstances, I probably shouldn’t mention name of the book but if you really want to know it’s called Curry 101. The reason I’m feeling slightly diffident about mentioning this is because, despite having excellent recipes from the various Asian regions, the Americas and, especially, sub-Saharan Africa, there’s basically nothing in it from the Middle East or North Africa. 

That seems like an incredible oversight in respect of a region where the components of what we recognise as curry dishes are in ample supply.

Iraq in particular, especially Basra, has an abundance of such dishes — one of which I think I’ll make for the thousandth time again this evening. It’s called Kari il Dijaaj, or chicken curry, as mostly lifted from the scholar Nawal Nasrallah’s divine Delights from The Garden of Eden. This recipe serves four hungry diners.

INGREDIENTS

550 gm boneless chicken thighs cut into cubes

2 tablespoons corn flour

2 tablespoons cooking oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic

1 potato cut into small cubes

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon of curry powder

2 cups hot water

1 tablespoon pomegranate syrup

½ teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon each, black pepper, whole mustard seeds and whole fennel or aniseeds

½ teaspoon each crushed coriander and ground cumin

1 bay leaf

2 or 3 cardamom pods

½ cup frozen/fresh peas or beans

METHOD

1)   Sprinkle chicken with cornstarch, salt and pepper. In a medium skillet, brown the chicken in a tablespoon of oil, stirring frequently. Set aside.

2)   In a heavy pot, sauté the onion in another tablespoon of oil until transparent. Add in the curry and garlic. Add in the potatoes and vegetables, and the flour, and stir for a few minutes until fragrant.

3)   Stir in the hot water, and the rest of the ingredients, bringing to a quick heat before reducing the temperature and simmering for another 40 minutes.  Stir a couple of times while cooking. Then add in the chicken.

4)   Serve with white rice and salad.