Kai Kaeng - chicken casserole

This is a "Thai-ised" version of a recipe from Delia Smith's cooking 
course, called Chicken with Whole Spice, which is a mild pastiche on 
Indian food. 

This version is set up for a slow-crock cooker, but it could be prepared 
as a conventional casserole by simmering it on the stove top for about 
30 minutes or in an oven at about 180 C for 30 minutes or so. In either 
case check occasionally for "doneness" as I have lost my notes on oven 
cooking of this dish (not owning an oven it is of little interest to 
us...) 

Ingredients 

4 cups of chicken, filleted and cut into bite sized pieces. 

for the marinade 

1 tablespoon of garlic, cruchsed 
1 tablespoon of fresh root ginger, grated 
1 tablespoon of shallots, thinly sliced 
1 tablespoon of peanut oil 
a pinch of turmeric, and salt & pepper to taste. 

for the sauce 

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds 
1 teaspoon of coriander seeds 
1 teaspoon of cardamom pods 
1 tablespoon of fermented shrimp paste 
1 cup of shallots, finely sliced (or use red onions) 
1 tablespoon of prik ki nu (green birdseye chilis), thinly sliced 
1 tablespoom of prik ki nu daeng (red birdseye chilis), thinly sliced 
1 cup of coconut milk 

Method 

Mix the ingredients of the marinade, and marinade the chicken in a cool 
place for about 3 hours. 

Toast the cumin, coriander, and cardamom in a dry heavy skillet or wok, 
until aromatic, and grind to a fine powder. 

Blend the ingredients of the sauce together. 

Transfer the chicken and marinade to a wok or sautee pan and stir fry 
until the chicken just starts to change colour. 

Transfer to a slow-crock cooker, and add the sauce, and then simmer, 
covered on low heat for one to one and a half hours (until the chicken 
is cooked, tender, and the pieces fall apart at the pressure of a 
chopstick.) 

Serve with steamed white rice.