Ingredients
2 free-range chicken legs
1 quail
1 partridge
1 pheasant
1 big handful of curry leaves
8 finger aubergines
8 small round aubergines
1 large aubergine
1 x 400 g tin of light coconut milk
PASTE
1 onion
4 cloves of garlic
5 cm piece of ginger
2 fresh red chillies
1 bunch of fresh coriander , (30g)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 heaped teaspoon garam masala
4 teaspoons crunchy peanut butter
2 heaped teaspoons soft brown sugar
4 teaspoons tamarind paste
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5.
- For the curry paste, peel and slice the onion and garlic, and peel and chop the ginger. Deseed and roughly slice the chillies, then pick the coriander leaves, finely chopping the stalks.
- Place a large pan on a medium heat, throw in the onion, garlic, ginger, chilli and coriander stalks, and char for 1 to 2 minutes to soften slightly.
- Tip into a pestle and mortar with the remaining paste ingredients and bash to a thick paste – you may need to work in batches (or whiz in a food processor).
- Place a large ovenproof ragù pan on a medium heat. Halve the chicken legs, then place in the pan skin-side down with the quail. Remove the partridge legs and add to the pan, then remove and discard the backbone, halving and adding the rest to the pan. Prep the pheasant in the same way, adding to the pan once halved.
- Dry-fry for 3 to 4 minutes, or until golden all over, then add the curry leaves and 1 heaped tablespoon of the curry paste – keep it slowly ticking away while you prep the aubergines.
- Leaving the small ones intact at the stalk, cut the aubergines into quarters lengthways, and cut the large aubergine into thick rounds, slice down into each round to make a pocket. Stuff all the aubergines generously with the paste, coating the outsides, too.
- Layer the stuffed aubergines into the pan on top of the game birds, using up all the remaining paste (your pan will be super-full at this stage, but don’t worry as it will cook down slightly).
- Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for 40 minutes, or until the aubergines are tender and the meat cooked through.
- Pour the coconut milk into the gaps, add a splash of water and gently let it bubble together on a medium heat for 2 minutes to come together, then season to perfection. Sprinkle over the coriander leaves.
- Delicious served with pickles, salad, rice and Fluffy coconut breads.
source: https://www.jamieoliver.com
