Chicken curry goodness

On Saturday, I decided I wanted to make a big chicken curry from my new cookbook, which, by the way, is awesome. The cookbook has lots of recipes and they are easy to follow, and some of them even have stories to go with them. There is a section for "Curries in a Hurry" (my style of cooking) and a lot of chutneys and appetizers too. I am going to have a lot of fun with it. Maybe I will even learn to like daal. Anway, for this (sort-of) inaugural curry adventure, I selected "Madras-style Chicken Curry". There were 20+ ingredients, so a trip to Talin Market was in order. My basket contained methi, black mustard, cumin seeds, coconut, cardamom (!) and even some nuttella (my weakness). The recipe was quite easy. I had to cut up the chicken first and remove the skin and fat. That took a while. Then I had to marinate it in turmeric, salt and yogurt. I put all the spices, garlic and onion in the blender and then cooked them in oil for a few minutes before adding the chicken. That had to simmer for a while and then it was done. Really only 4 steps! I had two friends over and we all agreed it was good. There will be more curries to come, I think!
In other news, I also saw an awesome and inspiring and convicting documentary about fair trade and coffee, called Black Gold. GO SEE IT! I also went hiking with Krista, Lucky the Dog and Nick. We hiked up Embudito trail (that's the one at the top of Montgomery Blvd.) for a while and then came back. Which is what most people do on hikes. It was beautiful, which is hardly surprising.