Mary Berry has revealed an unusual ingredient to elevate a classic chicken curry: grapes. The former Great British Bake Off judge shared that adding grapes to a chicken curry is an old-fashioned trick that adds a sweet and tangy flavour to the savoury dish.
Berry wrote: “Grapes are an ingredient we used to add to chicken dishes in the 1980s. I’d forgotten how good the combination was until I was at a friend’s house recently and was served such a dish.” This inspired her to create a simple yet delicious mild curried chicken recipe with grapes added at the end.
The recipe begins by poaching chicken thighs with carrots, onion, garlic, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and a stock cube for five minutes, then simmering for 45 minutes until tender. After straining the stock, the chicken is deboned and halved. Asparagus is boiled for three minutes and sliced into rounds.
For the sauce, butter is melted with curry powder, then flour is stirred in. Reserved stock (300ml) is whisked in until thickened, followed by redcurrant jelly and crème fraîche. The chicken is added and brought to a boil. Finally, the curry is served in a wide dish, scattered with grapes and asparagus. Berry recommends serving hot with rice.
