chicken curry with steamed fennel on the side

i have been invited to join the masala mambo group on flickr - is there a better excuse to cook something india-inspired? i haven't cooked with indian spices in a while so i am really looking forward to this dish. i'm gonna have myself a little chicken curry with steamed fennel on the side. i have to admit that my sister is much more creative when it comes to indian cooking. she just loves indian food and owns about twice as many indian spices than i do. she also likes to experiment with almonds and grapes in her curries ... since i have neither of her secret ingredients at home, i am going to stick to the only remotely creative verison of a curry i am able to cook ... because i just love the taste of coconut milk! this curry is also quite hot due to the (massive!) amount of ground pepper in it. if you don't like it that hot i suggest you don't put any pepper in it and just season to taste with pepper at the end. i like all my dishes very mild and i rarely use black pepper at all, but every once in a while i can handle a spicy dish. the steamed fennel goes particularly well with that curry, it seems to soften all the spices.

1 diced onion
15 g fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 tablespoon curcuma
1/2 tablespoon ground coriander
1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
350 g chicken breast, diced
250 ml coconut milk
100 ml cream

1. in a pot, heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil and gently fry diced onion and minced ginger.
2. add curry powder, curcuma, coriander and black pepper and increase heat.
3. stir for a little while and then add the diced chicken breast.
4. roast for another 10 minutes or so
5. finally add coconut milk, cream (i used rama creme fin) and bay leaf, cover and let simmer on low heat for at least 20 minutes.
6. season to taste - works well with steamed veggies or rice as a side dish.

i met my old friend christa the other day. i haven't spoken to her in like 10 years and i was really happy to see her. she is married now and her husband is from india - maybe if we revive this old friendship i can learn from her (or the husband) how to cook a propper indian meal *g*

anyway, i need to look for my bend it like beckham-dvd now.
whenever i cook indian food this movie pops into my head!

and of course i start to reminisce about my time in london (are you getting sick of my nostalgia and my stories of london?). i took a language class at ealing tertiary college and i quickly became a fan of the southasian lifestyle that was omnipresent in and around ealing. my favorite foodrelated locations in london are wembley and ealing ... i am still very fond of the colourfull things and flavours and i can't get enough of the local cornershops there.

man, i can not wait another 10 years before visitin london again. though i lived there 10 years ago i did not feel like a tourist at all on my trip this spring. certainly, very much has changed, but i guess i lost my heart for good ...