Last week was a bit of a disappointment for me. I was invited to the premier of The Hundred Food Journey starring Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Charlotte Le Bon and Rohan Chandin in London but living in North Yorkshire as I do, I just couldn’t get there.
Oh well, the film is out of 5 September so I’ll just have to go see it in Middlesbrough. Not nearly as exciting but I’m sure the film will be fantastic. I do love a good foodie film.
It’s not all bad though. The agency behind the film were good enough to send me some of the recipes for the dishes prepared in The Hundred Food Journey and I’ve had a lot of fun preparing them.
This Maison Mumbai Coconut Chicken was gobbled up by my three kids. Caroline and I loved it too.
I did change the recipe slightly so that I could work with ingredients I had on hand but for the most part this is the recipe they sent me. One thing I found of interest was the madras masala. Please note this has nothing to do with the madras curry powders available here in the UK.
The instructions said to place the whole spices in a pestle and mortar and then grind in one direction for ten seconds.
I have to say I’ve never seen this instruction in any cookbook but it worked. Usually I would use a much finer powder but the roughly ground spices were great.
If you don’t have the whole spices, you could just use a tablespoon or so of garam masala. That will work just fine too.
International & UK Orders
Maison Mumbai Coconut Chicken

Ingredients
- 4 – 5 skinned chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
- 6 tablespoons ghee
- 1 3cm cinnamon stick
- 5 black peppercorns
- 3 green cardamom pods
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 bay leaf
- 20 curry leaves
- 2 onions – ½ onion sliced thinly and the rest roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 teaspoons madras masala*
- ½ cup 75g cashews
- 2 green chillies – finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 400ml coconut milk
- ½ cup 45g shredded coconut
- Salt
Instructions
- In a saucepan, melt half of the ghee and then fry the chopped onions over low heat until translucent and soft.
- Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, melt the remaining ghee and roast the cashews until the have browned evening. Remove them from the ghee and set aside.
- Add the cinnamon stick, peppercorns, cardamom pods, cumin seeds, bay leave and curry leaves to the ghee and sizzle for about 30 seconds to allow the ghee to take on the magnificent flavour of the spices.
- Add the turmeric, madras masala, the green chillies, the shredded coconut and the coconut milk. You can add a little water or chicken stock to achieve the desired consistency.
- Add the tomato paste and salt to taste.
- Now add the chicken pieces, cover and simmer for about three minutes on medium high heat.
- Turn the heat to medium and cook for a further seven minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Top with the roasted cashew and remaining onion slices and serve immediately with rice or naans.
*To make the madras masala (not to be mistaken with madras curry powder we get here in the UK) place ½ teaspoon fennel seeds, a pinch of cinnamon powder, ½ teaspoon coriander seeds, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 6 black peppercorns, 1 star anise, 3 green cardamom pods and ½ teaspoon ajwain seeds in a pestle and mortar. Grind in one direction for 10 seconds. This will make more than you need for this recipe but it’s good to have on hand.
Man's y
Wednesday 24th of January 2018
When do to I add the madras masala ?
Dan Toombs
Saturday 24th of February 2018
All fixed now. :-)
Dan
Peter
Sunday 26th of February 2017
Hi Dan, I love your recipes, have tried many! I made your Coriander and Coconut Chicken curry today, fabulous! I'd like to try this one, but: I noticed coconut milk in step 4 of the instructions, but not in the ingredient list. How much, a 400ml can? Or did I miss something...
Thanks!
Dan Toombs
Tuesday 28th of February 2017
Hi Peter
Thank you and thanks for noticing that I left that out. 400ml coconut milk is right. You could even add a little more if you want more sauce. You might need to adjust the seasoning though.
Thanks, Dan
Jenny Brady
Wednesday 11th of February 2015
This looks fab and given your mention of the film, which I am dying to see, this is going to be my curry and film night recipe for it :)
Ashleigh Allan
Monday 9th of February 2015
This sounds delicious - love coconut - definitely going to give this a try!
amy
Sunday 16th of November 2014
I saw The One Hundred Foot Journey ... loved the movie and look forward to being inspired through your recipes!
Dan Toombs
Tuesday 5th of January 2016
Hi Amy
It was a great movie. I loved it too. Thanks for stopping by.
Dan