Farida Omar's Chicken Curry Recipe

Since moving to South Africa I have grown a "spice tooth" craving Indian food, particularly curries. There are so many good Indian restaurants here in Joburg and of course in Cape Town. Next month we are planning to go to Durban - the hotbed for Indian food and culture in SA - for a long weekend and I am already planning our culinary itinerary! But first, this weekend I am going to cook my own curries, a vegetarian one for me and Farida Omar's Chicken Curry for Vince.

Farida Omar's culinary capabilities are legendary, at least among the South African political top brass. Her biryani and curries fortified the likes of Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Ahmed Kathrada during their incarceration at Pollsmoor Prison in the 80's. On the occasions when lawyer Dullah Omar would visit his famous clients in prison, he managed to smuggle his wife's cooking in via his briefcase!

Madiba's favorite?  Farida Omar's Chicken Curry

Ingredients

3 tablespoons sunflower oil 
3 cardamom pods 
1 stick cinnamon
4 cloves 
1 tablespoon butter
2 onions sliced thin
2 teaspoons garlic crushed
2 big tomatoes, grated 
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 large whole chicken, portioned and skinned
2cm chunk of grated fresh root ginger 
3 teaspoons coriander powder 
2 teaspoons cumin powder
1- 2 teaspoons chilli powder 
½ teaspoon turmeric powder 
1½ cups (about 375ml) chicken stock
6-8 small potatoes, peeled

Farida Omar in her kitchen in Cape Town in 2007. Photograph: Richard Goode

Method

Heat the oil.

Fry the cardamom, cinnamon, cloves in the oil until they release their aroma.

Add the butter and the onions and fry until translucent then add the garlic and stir through.

Once the garlic releases aroma, add the grated tomato and tomato paste and cook over a low heat to form a thick sauce.

When you see the oil coming to the top of the sauce add the chicken pieces, ginger, coriander, cumin, chilli and turmeric.

Braise the chicken curry with 1½ cups boiling water or chicken stock until the chicken is almost cooked through, approximately 20 minutes. Cut the potatoes in half, add and cook them with the chicken until they are very soft, about 20 minutes.

Serve with roti breads.

(This recipe is taken from Hunger for Freedom, the story of food in the life of Nelson Mandela, by Anna Trapido)