We use chicken thigh meat because of the deeper flavor, but you can use chicken breast meat if you prefer.
This is a mild curry. You can increase the heat with more cayenne. Please note that jalapeños vary greatly in heat. Check the spiciness of your jalapeños and adjust the recipe to taste.
Note that what we usually buy labelled “curry powder” is just a spice mix, made up of various spices, like those in the following ingredients, including a good portion of turmeric, which gives the curry powder its yellow color. Feel free to experiment a little with the spices listed here to get the taste you like the best.
Method
1 Mix the spices:In a small bowl, mix together the salt, ground coriander, cumin, ground cloves, cinnamon, ground cardamom, black pepper, cayenne and turmeric. Set aside.
2 Sauté onions, jalapeños, ginger, garlic, spices: In a wok or deep sauté pan, heat the oil over high heat. The moment the oil begins to smoke, add the onions and jalapeños and toss to coat in oil. Sear the vegetables for 3 minutes, stirring only enough to keep them from burning, but still allowing the onions to sear.
Add the ginger, garlic and spice mixture and toss to combine, cook for 1 minute.
3 Add coconut milk, chicken, simmer: Add the coconut milk and chicken. Stir the mixture so that the chicken pieces are coated in the coconut milk. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes.
4 Add basil, lime juice: When the chicken is tender, turn off the heat and add the basil and lime juice. Add more lime juice and salt to taste and serve over rice.
