Ingredients
  • 3 cups coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon cumin, ground
  • 1 teaspoon coriander, ground
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
  • 4 tablespoons canola oil
  • 8 cardamom pods
  • 6 cloves, whole
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons almonds, roughly chopped
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons raisins
  • salt and black pepper, Sea freshly ground
For garnish:
  • Fresh coriander (cilantro), finely chopped
  • Toasted almonds, slivered
Preparation

Place the coconut milk in a bowl and beat it lightly until it is smooth and creamy. Beat in the ground cumin, ground coriander, chili powder and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.

Pour 4 tablespoons of the canola oil into a tagine or casserole dish, and place over a medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon stick and bay leaves, and stir. Add the chicken pieces and brown on all sides; remove to a large bowl. Place the almonds and raisins into the same hot oil and stir quickly. The almonds should turn golden and the raisins should plump up – which will happen very fast. Return the chicken to the pan, stir in the spiced coconut milk and bring to a simmer.


Cover, turn the heat to low and simmer gently for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice. Remove the cover, turn the heat up a bit and reduce the sauce until it is thick and just clings to the chicken pieces, about 15 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces over gently as you do this.

Serve in a large warmed plate, and sprinkle fresh coriander and chopped toasted almonds on top.