So with my exams over, I felt like making it for myself. Looking at the ingredients list, however, was enough to put me off (Indian food in general needs many many ingredients - this is why curry powder was invented).
Eventually though, I found a recipe which did not need too many ingredients (I only had to buy yogurt and chicken), especially garam masala (the magic ingredient I leave out is included inside, so unless I make my own I'm stuck with an unpalatable substance in my chicken).
Some pictures taken using the new Canon PowerShot A710 IS I got, accompanied by Johnny Malkavian, yesterday (the old one is 4 years old and is getting wonky, and an image stabiliser was appealing):
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You may notice black specks in the curry. This comes from simmering it without a cover (I was unsure whether using a metal cover would damage the Teflon and my mother was resting) for 15 minutes without stirring; I am annoyed because I suspect if I'd covered it before simmering for 30 minutes as per instructions, it would have gotten even more burnt.
Instead of using canned tomatoes and tomato paste, I used a tin of 'tomato sauce' (the main ingredient was puree) which might have resulted in a less robust flavour. Also, I forgot to add in the crushed garlic and ginger (I couldn't find the pestle and mortar so I used the tenderiser on the chopped vegetables) till after the chicken had been added, but I don't think that affected the taste. I also added a sprinkle of sugar to up the sweetness quotient a bit.
My mother and I found the taste a little strange - maybe it doesn't pay to use the simplest recipe (her explanation was that it was a mish-mash of flavours). Alternatively, I suspect that I do not have a comparative advantage (let alone absolute advantage) in making Indian food.
Yet, I am still searching for a local version of the Holy Grail - good curry made without chili powder. And since you can't get it commercially here, the only alternative is to make it yourself.
My father asked why I was so kind to keep making food for my brother-in-law. Hurr hurr.
Sometimes I wonder also.