Bangladesh Curry

Instructions

Nick the skin of each tomato with a sharp knife, put them in a bowl and cover with very hot water from the kettle. After a count of 20, pour off the water, peel the tomatoes once they are cool enough to handle, halve them and squeeze out most of the pips and juice. Chop the flesh roughly and set it aside.

Finely chop the onion and fry it in the vegetable oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over low to medium heat for about 10 minutes. Stir from time to time and watch it closely, because it is ready when it is an even golden brown and it must not burn.

While the onion cooks, peel and finely chop the ginger and garlic. Slit the chillies, slice the flesh away from the seeds and chop it finely, using a fork or rubber gloves to keep it off your fingers.

Measure the ground spices into a teacup. Stir the ginger, garlic and chilli into the onions and fry for another minute or so, adding some of the chilli seeds if you want heat as well as spice. Add the spices from the cup, fry for a minute or two while stirring constantly, then season with salt and black pepper.

Pour in the water and the chopped tomatoes and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down a little and simmer the sauce for 5 to 10 minutes.

Stir the chicken pieces into the sauce until they are coated, then cover the pan, lower the heat and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring now and then. Thighs take longer than breast pieces.

Stir in the yoghurt and let the sauce come back to a gentle bubble. Taste a little from a spoon; it will probably be quite sweet from the tomatoes. Squeeze in the juice of half the lime, stir, taste again and decide whether the second half is needed.

Chop the coriander leaves and scatter them over the curry just before serving with cooked rice.