Chicken curry

Heat the oil on a medium-high heat in a large saucepan, then add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle. As soon as you smell the sweet aroma of cumin, add the onions and salt. Cook the onions for 8-10 minutes until they've caramelised and turned a deep shade of brown.

Add the ginger and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring continuously as the fibrous ginger trends to stick to the bottom of the pan. Follow with whole crushed speices turmeric then cook for around 1 minute. You need to let the spices cook to release their oils, so please make sure you stir all the time to ensure the spices don't burn.

Add your tin of tomatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes so the tomatoes can break down and excess water evaporate. Add 250ml of hot water and reduce the mixture again, this should take 5 minutes. It sounds weird, but it will really helps develop the flavours in your gravy. Score your chicken peices with 2-3 cuts to allow the masala gravy to penetrate the meat and help it cook more quickly. Add the the peices to the masala and coat the chicken with the thick, luxurious masala. Cook for around 5 minutes, by which point the chicken will have start ed releasing its own juices and making its own gravy.

Add 500ml of hot water from the kettle and stir thoroughly, scraping down the sides of the pan to remove any caramelised masala residue. Put a lid on the pan, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes, stirring every 3-4 minutes. Take the lid off and increase the heat to medium-high and cook for a further 5 minutes to allow the grave to reach the perfect consistency. Sprinkle and stir in the coriander and garam masala, then serve with pilau rice, naan or roti.