In a large, wide pan or wok, dry fry the coriander, cumin and fennel seeds for 2-3min until fragrant and just beginning to pop. Grind them to a fine powder using a pestle and mortar or spice grinder. In a food processor whiz the onion, tomatoes, chilli, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon and ½tsp salt to a smooth paste, or purée the ingredients using a stick blender.
Step 2
Gently heat the oil in the same pan as the spices. Add the spice powder and paste along with 3tbsp water and the curry leaves. Sizzle on low heat for 10min until some of the spices’ natural oils are visible.
Step 3
Add the chicken, tomatoes and stock to the pan with the sugar and lemon juice. Simmer for 30min until the meat is cooked through. Set aside to cool for 10min before stirring through the natural yogurt. Serve with steamed rice and poppadums, if you like.
Making your own spice paste is a fiddle but creates the most authentic flavour. Adding a splash of water as the paste cooks protects the spices from burning.If you like, you could replace our spice paste with Patak's Balti Paste. Fry the paste when you add the chicken thighs in step 3.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
