chicken & aubergine coconut curry

1kg chicken pieces (legs & thighs), bone and skin on
1 red onion cut into wedges
1 large aubergine or 2 small ones, cut into chunks
1 tin coconut milk
2T tumeric
1 red pepper, sliced
handful fresh coriander
1 cube chicken stock
Salt to taste
1T raw sugar
1/2 lime
6 chopped cherry tomatoes

~spice paste~
2 hot chilies
1t cumin seeds
1 inch cinnamon bark
5 black pepper corns
1/2t mustard seeds
1/2 red onion
2T oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2t fennel seeds
1/2t corriander seeds
1/2t black onion seeds
1/2t fenugreek

Toast seeds in a pan and then blitz in a spice mill with other ingredients.

Heat a deep heavy pan 2T oil, toss the chicken pieces in the tumeric and cook until brown. Turn down the heat and add the onion. Once the onion is transparent, add the spice paste and stir for a couple of minutes. Add all ingredients except for the aubergine and pepper. Add some water to loosen the mix if required. Cover and cook for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Rinse some Basmati rice and cook. When the rice has 10 minutes cooking time remaining, add the aubergine, 1/2 the coriander, and the pepper.

Once cooked, stir in the lime juice, season to taste (adding sugar and salt as desired) and add most of the coriander leaves, reserving some for scattering over the plated (or bowled) curry.

Serve with rice and the remaining coriander.