Chicken and Vegetables in an Aromatic Coconut Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp coconut or vegetable oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 5cm cinnamon stick
• 6 green cardamom pods
• 4 cloves
• 10 black peppercorns
• 2 star anise
• 15 curry leaves
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 20g fresh root ginger, peeled weight, finely chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2–4 green chillies, whole but pierced (optional)
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ¼–½ tsp chilli powder
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp fennel seeds, roughly powdered
• salt, to taste
• 500g skinless chicken joints
• 400ml can coconut milk
• 1 tbsp coconut cream (optional)
• ¾–1 tsp tamarind paste, or to taste
• handful of green beans, topped and tailed, halved on the diagonal
• 2 handfuls of green peas, fresh or frozen and defrosted
• small fistful of fresh coriander leaves