Almond chicken curry

Ingredients

It’s a long list of spices (the dish is actually quite forgiving if you don’t have them all) but the incredible blend of aromatics, almond flavour and bittersweet amchur is spectacular.

For the almond chicken curry

• 12 fresh curry leaves
• 2 fresh kaffir lime leaves
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 star anise
• ½ cinnamon stick
• 3 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 2 tsp amchur (dried mango) powder
• 15g/½oz fresh root ginger, finely grated
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 60g/2¼oz ground almonds
• 1 tbsp ghee (or coconut oil)
• 200g/7oz skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
• 400ml/7fl oz boiling water
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 250g/9oz ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 160g/5¾oz spinach, roughly chopped
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the roasted masala chickpeas with green bean sambol

• 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 30g/1oz cashew nuts, roughly chopped
• 60g/2¼oz fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, stalks reserved and roughly chopped
• 160g/5¾oz green beans
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tsp Sri Lankan curry powder (or garam masala)
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch dried chilli flakes
• 200g/7oz cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 60g/2¼oz freshly grated coconut (or dry desiccated coconut)
• 1 lime, zest finely grated and juice
• 1 banana shallot, thinly sliced
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve

• 15g/½oz fresh coriander leaves
• 1 tbsp flaked almonds