Curry No. 1

I didn't know what else to call it today. I'm sure I will post lots of curry recipes. The base recipe I used was called a korma, however, the korma's I know are creamy, have almonds, sometimes coconut, so there's not a chance this is one, but, it is a curry.
Years ago I was a right cooking snob, I couldn't understand why anyone would use a pre-packed meal or a jar...2 things happened...jars and ready meals have had to really raise their standards and improve the quality of the ingredients they use...and I got a bit older and wiser and I had Lauren and I kept my job and I never got any sleep and then I realised there's a time and place for everything and you do what you have to to get by! My cupboards are stocked with all sorts of conveniences.
One thing it's really worth having a go at though, if you never have before, is a curry, with spices from scratch. It might make you think twice before blowing the budget on a takeaway. The taste is powerful, well worth the bit of extra effort. I made this curry on a Friday night, I picked Lauren up from school, make her mackerel on toast, packed up the swimming things, took her swimming, we nipped to Sainsbury's on the way home, then got some petrol, then took some trousers back to Next, then went home, unpacked the shopping, ran Lauren a bath and then I cooked the curry while Tony got Lauren to bed and we were sitting down to eat it just after 8pm, so even on a hectic evening a curry from scratch is not impossible!

Curry No. 1 
1tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
3 bay leaves (if anyone needs any give me a shout)
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp crushed cardamon seeds - you can buy this, it's pretty hard to come by though. I crushed some pods in a pestle and mortar, picked out the husks and then ground up the seeds - I didn't get anywhere near 1 tsp though!
1/4 tsp ground cloves - again you can buy this but I only had whole cloves, so I ground up 2 in my pestle and mortar - I didn't want to do too many as it's not my favourite taste
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
2tsp curry powder - mild, medium or hot whichever you prefer
3 tsp peeled, grated ginger - I grated an inch long piece
3 chopped or crushed cloves of garlic
1/2 tin chopped tomatoes
1kg chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces - I just used about 375g chicken thighs for 2 of us but the same amount of everything else
7fl oz chicken stock
Seasoning
5 tbsp fromage frais - I used Total 2% Greek Yoghurt as that's what I had
Dried chilli flakes (optional)

Heat the oil in a medium sized frying pan. Add the bay leaves, cinnamon stick, cardamon, cloves, cumin seeds and onions and fry for about 5 minutes, until the onions have softened.
Add the ground coriander, cumin and curry powder, ginger, garlic and tomatoes. Stir well and fry for another 5 minutes.
Add the chicken, pour in the stock, bring to the boil, season with salt and pepper and lower to a simmer, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Leave to cook for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is tender and cooked through.
While the sauce is simmering, cook some basmati rice.
Just before serving, sprinkle the sauce with dried chilli flakes (be careful they are powerful), remove from the heat and stir in the fromage frais.

Serve with the basmati rice on warmed plates. Serve with your favourite chutney or some poppadoms or samosas/bhajis, but I have to say we didn't and it was very filling.