The Karei Raisu (Japanese curry)

My trip to Japan last year turned my love for Japanese food into an absolute obsession. Being an Indian, the taste of Japanese curry is so different to my palate, and I find myself ordering a side of curry to literally anything I order in a Japanese restaurant. This is my take on Japanese chicken curry, traditionally made with beef. Also, this recipe does not use boxed Vermont curry cubes.

Fry 2 chopped onions, 3 slit red Birdseye chillies, 4 chopped garlic pods and a spoon of ginger paste in 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add to it 800g chopped chicken thighs - or small cubes of fatty beef if you like - and fry until no longer pink. At this point add a diced potato and a diced carrot (both of which I didn't have) Add salt, a pinch of turmeric, a spoon of red chilli powder, two spoons of garam masala, a spoon of curry powder, a tablespoon of honey and two tablespoons of butter. Mix everything together and add 4 cups of water. Grate a small sweet skinless apple into the water. Bring to a boil and remove the scum from the top.

In a bowl, add a little water to 4 tablespoons of flour and mix well until you have a well-mixed slurry. Add this into the pot, mix and reduce until your texture seems right. A dash of ketchup and soy sauce might add a little complexity to the curry, or skip it if it tastes right.

Serve hot with white rice. Itadakimasu!