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1. Break the dried red chillies into smaller pieces, discarding some seeds if you want to slightly moderate the heat. Toast the dried red chillies, fennel seeds, black peppercorns, cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom pods in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and slightly darkened, then remove from heat and cool briefly.
25 piece dried red chillies,
1 tsp black peppercorns,
1 tsp fennel seeds,
1 piece cinnamon stick,
4 piece cloves,
4 piece cardamom pods
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2. Transfer the toasted spices to a spice grinder or mortar and grind to a fairly fine powder. Mix in the garam masala, ground coriander, ground cumin and ground turmeric to form a deep red spice mix.
2 tbsp garam masala,
2 tsp ground coriander,
1.5 tsp ground cumin,
1 tsp ground turmeric
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3. Peel and finely slice the onion. Finely chop the garlic and ginger. Cut the tomato into small dice.
2 piece onion,
6 clove garlic cloves,
30 g fresh ginger,
2 piece tomato
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4. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the sliced onion and curry leaves and cook, stirring often, until the onion is deep golden brown and starting to caramelise.
1 piece onion,
3 tbsp vegetable oil,
15 piece curry leaves (fresh or frozen)
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5. Add the chopped garlic and ginger to the pan and fry briefly until fragrant, then add most of the ground spice mix and stir to coat the onions well, frying until the oil separates and the mix smells roasted.
3 clove garlic cloves,
15 g fresh ginger,
1 tbsp garam masala
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6. Stir in the diced tomato and cook until it breaks down into a thick paste and the oil starts to separate again. Remove the pan from the heat.
1 piece tomato
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7. Place the chicken thighs into the slow cooker in an even layer. Sprinkle with salt, then spoon the hot onion-tomato-spice mixture over the chicken, coating it well.
900 g bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed,
2 tsp salt
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8. In a bowl, whisk together the tamarind paste, water and coconut milk until smooth. Pour this mixture into the slow cooker around the chicken, then sprinkle over any remaining dry spice mix.
2 tbsp tamarind paste,
200 ml thick coconut milk,
200 ml water
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9. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low until the chicken is very tender and the flavours are intense, then uncover for the final part of cooking if the sauce needs to reduce slightly.
900 g bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
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10. Stir in the lime juice and adjust salt to taste. Let the curry sit briefly on warm so the flavours settle, then garnish with chopped fresh coriander leaves just before serving.
1 tsp salt,
1 tbsp lime juice,
0.2 cup fresh coriander leaves (garnish)
