Vietnamese chicken, sweet potato and butternut ‘cari’ – Food & Home Magazine

Ingredients

• Vietnamese star anise ‘cari’ powder
• 10 curry leaves
• 2 star anise
• 1 dry red chilli
• 5ml (1 tsp) black peppercorns
• 60ml (¼ cup) coriander seeds
• 10ml (2 tsp) cumin
• 8 cloves
• 15ml (1 tbsp) ground turmeric
• 5ml (1 tsp) ground ginger
• 5ml (1 tsp) nutmeg, freshly grated
• 2,5ml (½ tsp) ground cinnamon
• <h3>Caramel</h3>
• 45ml (3 tbsp) white sugar
• 120ml water
• <h3>‘Cari’</h3>
• 500g (about 3) sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 3cm slices
• 1,5kg butternut, chopped into 4cm chunks
• 30ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
• 4 x 150g chicken breasts, cut into 3cm slices
• 30ml (2 tbsp) sesame oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 10ml (2 tsp) garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 lemongrass sticks, bashed and tied together
• 10ml (2 tsp) dried chilli flakes (optional)
• 1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
• 400ml water
• 45ml (3 tbsp) fish sauce
• handful fresh coriander
• sticky rice, to serve
• 50g raw flaked almonds, toasted, to serve