I have a chicken curry with veg simmering away in a pot, how to tell when it is cooked?

If the chicken is sliced it cooks in a simmer in about 20 minutes. So an hour is fine.

not too sure … all i know is that you are making me hungry … with talk of curry and veggies.

Several things to consider. Simmering a stew or a sauce allows the flavors to "marry" i.e. interact and combine to intensify their individual contribution to the dish. This is often true of stews and sauces like spaghetti. But it also causes meat and vegetables to become very soft and lose their texture. If the meat is tough, this can be a good thing, but it's best to allow the meat to simmer by itself for an hour or more before adding the vegetables if you don't want to turn them into mush.Personally, I don't care. If the meat disintegrates and the vegetables are super-soft and the flavors all blend together I'm happy. However, if I were cooking for company I'd be more particular.