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They were introduced to Malaysia by the many South Indians (mostly Tamil) immigrants during the British colonial era. Rumour has it that the word “curry” came from the Indian name for theses leaves which is “kari patta”.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

4 green finger chillies, roughly chopped
½ tsp turmeric powder
¼ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp peeled and finely grated root ginger
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
¼ tsp salt
4 tbsp groundnut oil
5-6 curry leaves
2-4 cloves
1 large Spanish onion, finely sliced
1kg/ 2lb 3 oz chicken drumsticks and thighs, skinned and pricked
200 ml/7 fl oz coconut milk
2 green finger chillies, slit lengthways

Preparation:

In a blender, or with a pestle and mortar, blitz the chillies, turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, ginger, garlic and salt with 1 tbsp of the oil and 2 tbsp cold water to make a coarse paste. Heat the remaining oil in a heavy-based pan. Add curry leaves, cloves and onions and fry over a medium heat for 3 minutes.

Add the paste and fry for a minute. Tip in the chicken pieces and fry for 10 minutes on a medium to low heat. Rinse out the blender or mortar that contained the paste with 200ml/7 fl oz cold water. Mix this with the coconut milk. Pour over the chicken and mix well. Cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Garnish with green chillies and serve hot with plain basmati rice.