Celebrity square meals: The inventor Trevor Baylis's Keralan curry

Serves

I can't say I do an awful lot of cooking, although having said that, I do think the microwave oven is a fantastic invention. Maybe it's just my natural affinity with gadgetry, but I think it's an incredible machine, just for the convenience factor. I can get back to the workshop [where he invented the wind-up radio] and wait for the ping. Like many bachelors, I don't know in the morning what I'll want in the evening, so I'd be lost without a microwave. I even reuse the tubs for screws and bolts.

It is possible, however, to cook these things from scratch. Here's how.

Ingredients

1/2tsp turmeric
1/2tbsp chilli powder
2tsp curry powder
1tbsp vegetable oil
1/2tsp mustard seeds
3 spring onions, sliced
2 green chillies, deseeded and sliced
1cm piece ginger, peeled grated
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 chicken breasts or six thighs, cut into large pieces
1 can coconut milk
Half a mango, thinly sliced

Heat the oil in a large pan and add the mustard seeds, turmeric and chilli and curry powder. Cook for a minute or so, then add the chicken and stir for a couple of minutes, then add the spring onions, green chillies, ginger and garlic. When it all looks nice and golden, add the coconut milk, followed by the mango a few minutes later. I like it with a paratha or naan bread.