Heat a dry frying pan over a medium heat. Add 4 Curry leaves, 1 tablespoon Dried chillies, 2 tablespoon Coriander seeds, 0.5 teaspoon Cumin seeds, 0.5 teaspoon Mustard seeds, 0.5 teaspoon Fenugreek seeds, 0.5 teaspoon Cloves, 0.5 teaspoon Black peppercorns, 0.5 teaspoon Ground turmeric, 0.5 teaspoon Ground ginger, 0.5 teaspoon Ground nutmeg, and 0.5 teaspoon Ground cinnamonToast for 2 minutes until they have darkened, shaking the pan constantly to prevent burning. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Transfer the spices to a spice mill or pestle and mortar and grind into a fine powder.
Put 500 g Chicken breast into a bowl with half of the spice mix and 0.5 teaspoon Sea salt. Toss well to coat. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Heat 2 tablespoon Olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat and cook 1 Sweet potato for about 5 minutes so they are just browned, not cooked through. Remove the potatoes and set aside.
Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 8-10 minutes, turning to brown all sides. Take the chicken out and put with the sweet potatoes.
Add 3 Shallots and 2 Garlic clove to the pan and stir fry for 5 minutes.
Add the rest of the spice mix, 300 ml Light coconut milk, 2 teaspoon Lemongrass paste, 2 Kaffir lime leaves, 2 Carrots, 1 tablespoon Fish sauce, 100 ml Vegetable stock, chicken and sweet potatoes to the pan.
Stir well and simmer for 20 minutes.
Notes
Add a teaspoon of palm sugar at the end for a truly authentic taste.
For this curry to have the best flavour, make sure you are using really good quality spices that haven't expired.
Why not try making a plant based version of this and swapping the chicken for chickpeas.
To make this curry spicier, add some extra dried chillies. You might want to wait until it is cooked to taste it and then sprinkle them on top to reach your desired heat level.