Chicken and Peach Curry is a fragrant, savoury and sweet peach curry, ideal for a cold, wintery evening with friends!

Ingredients:

• 2 halves of a boneless, skinless chicken breast (300-350 g), cut into 1½” cubes
• 3 peaches, skinned, stoned and cut into ¼ inch slices
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon turmeric, ground
• ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
• 6-8 strands saffron (optional)
• 2 teaspoons milk (optional)
• 1 2” piece of cinnamon
• 1” piece of ginger, grated (about 1 tablespoon)
• 1 small onion (about 2” diameter) finely chopped
• 1 green chili, sliced down
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup coconut milk
• ½ teaspoon fennel, ground
• ¼ teaspoon cloves, ground
• freshly grated nutmeg or ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil
• chopped coriander for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

1. Cut chicken into 1½ inch chunks. Marinate cut chicken with salt, turmeric, and Kashmiri red chili powder.

2. If using, soak saffron strand in 2 teaspoons of milk.

3. Heat ghee in a wok or deep frying pan on medium heat. Add cinnamon stick, ginger, and onions, and sauté for about 30 seconds until onions become translucent.

4. Add chicken and stir fry chicken for 3-4 minutes, until it changes colour and is cooked on the outside.

5. Add ½ cup water and cover, and allow to steam for 4 minutes.6. Now lower the heat, and add 1 cup coconut milk, ½ cup water, peaches, fennel, cloves, nutmeg, and pepper.

6. Pour saffron and milk onto chicken. Stir occasionally. Allow to simmer for 13-15 minutes uncovered. 

Critical Ingredients:

While I have made this with fresh peaches, apricots should work well too. In the spices, most of the flavour comes from the cinnamon and fennel. Feel free to leave out clove powder and/or nutmeg. Turmeric and chilies form the base of your curry so are critical.