- Serves 4 (if eaten with Naan) - Ready in 1 hour -
Gather together for the Curry…
500g raw chicken breast (chopped into bite-size pieces with scissors).
1tbsp Tikka paste (from a jar) – I then freeze the rest of the paste (first open-freeze separate tbsp sized portions on a baking tray, then once frozen solid put into a labelled jar and keep in the freezer for next time).
- Whilst you gather the other ingredients together, let the chicken marinate in a dish / bowl with the Tikka paste -
2 tbsp rapeseed oil or olive oil.
1 onion, thinly sliced and diced (to save time day-to-day, I keep a big box of onions I've chopped ahead-of-time, in the freezer, so I throw in 2 handfuls of those).
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped (or 1 tsp lazy garlic paste).
Seeds from 4 cardamom pods (discard the seed pods).
1 tsp ground cinnamon.
2 tsp fresh ginger (finely grated) – I keep the remaining ginger in the freezer, as if you grate ginger straight from frozen then you don't need to peel it first.
2 tsp medium curry powder.
1 tin chopped tomatoes.
Juice and zest of 1 lemon.
1 stock cube or 2tsp 'Marigold Less Salt Swiss Vegetable Bouillon powder' (available in bulk 1kg tubs) - in this recipe, no extra water is needed, enough liquid is provided by the coconut milk and tinned tomatoes.
1 tin of coconut milk (I use the low fat version as it comes out of the tin more easily).
2 handfuls of desiccated coconut (optional).
Serve with…
1/2 cup (85g weight equivalent) brown rice per person, dry weight.
Plain yoghurt (8 tbsp, i.e. 2 per person).
1 large handful of Coriander leaves, torn. (I grow / buy herbs in bulk and then chop and freeze them, so they are ready to use quickly in recipes).
Naan bread (shop bought or homemade - see recipe to make 8 small Naan).
Get cooking the Curry…
1. Put the 500g of chicken breast pieces and the 1 tbsp Tikka paste into a dish, stir well and leave to infuse whilst you gather the other ingredients.
2. Heat the 2 tbsp oil, on the hob, in a large, oven-proof pan or casserole dish.
3. Add the chopped onion, the two chopped garlic cloves, the seeds from 4 cardamom pods, the 1 tsp of ground cinnamon, the 2 tsp of finely grated ginger and the 2 tsp of medium curry powder and fry gently for 5 minutes on the hob.
4. Add the chicken (and Tikka paste) to the pan / dish and fry gently for 5 minutes, on a MEDIUM heat, stirring every minute, until the chicken is browned slightly on the outside.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 190 C (170 C fan) or Gas 5.
6. Add the 1 can of tinned tomatoes, the lemon juice and zest from 1 lemon, sieve in the 2 tsp of stock powder and the tin of coconut milk. Stir well and heat through on the hob, for circa 5 minutes until it is simmering.
- At this stage the mixture may look an odd light pink, don’t worry, the colour will improve in the oven!
7. Cook the curry in the oven, UNCOVERED, for 40 min until the chicken is cooked through. CHECK the curry after 15 minutes, stir well and add up to 1/2 cup of boiling water (125 ml) if it looks too dry, then turn your attention to the RICE.
8. Once the curry has been in the oven for 15 minutes, begin to cook the rice (1/2 a cup of dry rice per person), in an electric rice cooker (ideally) or in a pan on the hob, following the packet instructions.
9. If you are feeling brave, make the Naan bread dough - see the recipe below - and put the dough into the fridge, until 10 minutes before the curry has finished cooking. Or put the shop-bought Naan breads on a baking tray in preparation for heating them later.
10. Ten minutes before the curry has finished cooking, pre-heat the grill to HIGH. (The curry will stay warm in it's pan whilst you grill the Naan.)
11. Bake the Naan breads for 2-3 minutes on each side, under a hot grill (or follow the manufacturer's instructions for shop-bought Naan).
12. Remove the curry from the oven and stir in the 2 handfuls of desiccated coconut (if using).
13. Serve the curry on top of the rice, top with yoghurt, sprinkle with Coriander (optional) and eat with Naan breads (see recipe below, or use shop-bought Naan).
Gather together for the 8 small Naan Breads...
250g plain flour (weighed on the scales or use 1.5 cups).
2 tsp sugar.
½ tsp salt.
A small handful of Nigella seeds.
½ tsp baking powder.
130ml milk.
3 tbsp (36g) vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing tray.
Get cooking the Naan Breads...
1. Put the 250g of plain flour, the 2 tsp of sugar, the ½ tsp salt and the small handful of Nigella seeds into a large-ish, wide based bowl (ideally use the bowl from a food mixer - if you have a dough hook attachment, as you can use it to knead with shortly).
2. Sieve in the ½ tsp of baking powder and mix the dry ingredients together well.
3. Add the 130ml of milk and the 3 tbsp (36g) of oil.
4. With a metal spoon, mix together the dough, for approx. 1 minute, to make a smooth, soft consistency.
5. (a) Either...On a clean, low-ish table, knead well (with cleaned then oiled hands - remove any jewellery first!) for 10 minutes, adding a little flour if the dough is too sticky and adding a little more oil if it is too dry. At first the dough will be inflexible, but persist with the kneading for 10 whole minutes (you can't rush it) and the dough will soften and end up smooth and silky.
5. (b) Or... Use the dough hook on a food mixer to knead the dough for you for 10 minutes.
6. Coat the dough in oil and wrap the oily-dough in grease-proof paper / a beeswax wrap in the fridge (or the freezer if you only have a few minutes before they are needed) as chilling first makes them more likely to puff up during cooking. Ideally chill the naan for at least 30 minutes, as it gives the dough time to 'relax' which makes it much easier to roll out.
7. Ten minutes before your curry finishes cooking, start to roll out your Naan. Wipe down, dry and drizzle oil on your work surface.
8. Also brush 1 tsp oil onto a large baking tray and put the tray into the hot oven (where the curry is still cooking) to heat up.
9. Meanwhile form the chilled Naan dough into 8 balls and roll out, using an oiled rolling pin - each will be approximately the size of an adult's hand.
10. Once the curry comes out of the oven, switch the oven to medium-high 'GRILL'.
11. Place 4 Naans on the hot baking tray (careful not to burn yourself) - make sure they are well spaced out.
12. Put the first batch of Naans under a hot grill in the oven and bake for 2 – 3 min per side until (hopefully) risen and lightly browned. Then repeat with the second batch Naans (keep the first batch warm by wrapping them in a clean tea towel and keeping them close to the oven). Even if the Naan bread don't puff up much they luckily still taste delicious.
13. Next day the leftover curry is delicious (eaten cold straight-from the fridge or properly reheated in the microwave or oven - stirred a few times during the reheating). I never keep / reheat leftover rice due to the dangers of food poisoning, I make a fresh batch of rice to eat with the leftover curry. To make the leftover curry go further, drain and add a 250g tin of green lentils (these are ready-to-eat, the same as the expensive 'Puy' lentils, just not grown in the Puy region). You can chuck these tinned lentils into pretty much any dish (leftover or not) to pad it out a bit - I always keep a few tins of these green lentils in the cupboard for last minute additions.