Gluten Free Keralan Chicken

This is a wonderfully aromatic chicken casserole from the South of India - Kerala. It should serve 8-10

It is long list of ingredients but most are spices. In Kerala one would use fresh coconut milk, I use a block of coconut cream made up with boiling water as per the packet or use a carton of coconut cream.

The easiest way to peel ginger by the way is to scrap the skin off with a teaspoon.

The pan needs to be suitable for frying and also for stewing the chicken to finish it. You can if you wish go up to the asterisk and then (making sure you have onions at the base) decant everything into a lidded oven proof dish or slow cooker and cook overnight to give a spicy hot Sabbath lunch (one of my Israeli Indian friends does calls it Chill out Cholent and first time dinners have a meal that they did not expect!)

If you do make sure you have enough liquid so it does not catch. You can cook the rice in muslin on the top of this but you will need at least an extra cup of water to each ½ cup of rice used. If you do use it as a "cholent" omit the beans/peas and replace with chunks of squash and or carrot.

2 tbsp oil for 1 tbsp black pepper corns
15 cloves
5 cinnamon sticks about 5cms (2ins) long
2 tbsp cardamom pods
10cms (4 ins) fresh ginger
8-10 quarters of chicken skinned if you wish
5 medium onions
1 kilo (2.2lbs) potatoes
2 tbsp chickpea flour or corn flour (starch)
Juice of a lime
10 lime leaves - if not available used the zest of 2 limes
10 fresh hot chillies - I use Filius Blue which I grow in the garden you can use less if you wish of course
1 litre (45 fl oz) coconut milk (make up to the consistency of pouring cream)
250g (8oz) French beans or sugar-snap peas or mange tout
Toasted split almonds to finish off (optional)

Coat the chicken in the flour and set to one side. Slice the onions, cut the potatoes into thick sticks about 1cm x1cm (½ inch x ½ inch); grate the ginger.

In a very large pan dry fry the pepper, cloves and cinnamon for 90 seconds then put in a pestle and mortar and grind, heat the oil in the pan and add onions and the grated ginger, cook for 5 minutes until the onions are turning translucent. Add the chicken and brown - you may need to remove some of the onion mix and do this in batches.

**Return all the onion mix to the pan and add the ground spices, potatoes, chilies and the coconut milk. Bring to simmering point giving the occasional stir to prevent sticking. Cover and leave to cook for about 30 minutes until the chicken and potatoes are virtually cooked - do check in case you need to add more liquid.

Just before serving add the juice of a lime the lime leaves and the peas, cook for a further 5 minutes.

Serve scattered with toasted almonds with rice cooked in water and some thick coconut milk with a few cardamom pods added

Spicy Keralan Style Chicken