By
in
Introduction
This recipe was created by one of my nutrition clients. She had amazing skills at creating great Fakeaways. This was one of her staples, that didn’t involve blowing her calories.
- A good quality non-stick pan significantly reduces oil consumption; the smallest amount of extra oil is then needed – pump spray bottle, pastry brush or a wipe with kitchen roll
- I don’t use the artificial ‘light’ spray oils and find using just water without any oil sacrifices too much flavour; that’s down to my personal taste, both options will reduce fat/calories
- Understanding how flavour layers develop really raises curry game: don’t stir too much, allow heat to build; take time on onions; dry fry whole spices until aroma comes up (pestle and mortar); spice powders need to dry cook too, minimal oil then keep adding splashes of water and evaporating until aroma arrives (generally avoid adding powdered spices to sauces – if it tastes bland later, try salt)
- Make sure meat is very lean: use lean cuts, with no skin, and visible fat snipped off (a good pair of kitchen scissors helps) – chicken thighs or breasts, 5% mince, diced lean lamb steaks, pork or beef all work well: fish too
- Time and money-saving tips
- Many curries are well suited to bulk batch cooking and freezing, Indian ‘fakeaway’ is a Friday night saver staple.
- Bulk pureed garlic and fresh ginger (with a drop of water) frozen in freezer bag sheets can be snapped off to use
- Bulk base sauces can be frozen halfway; later dry fry powder spices, add a can of chickpeas/black eye beans then finish with defrosted sauce – done faster than you cook the rice.
- It’s loads cheaper to buy rice, spices, pulses in bulk and from Indian shops or dedicated supermarket aisles
- Spice lists can look intimidating, but they store, collections build up quickly and you can use blends to get going and tailor recipes to use what you have/like
- Once you’ve cracked the methods to make curry leaner then they can be applied to any of your favourite curry authors recipes; I can recommend Madhur Jaffrey, Julie Sahni, Monisha Bharadwaj, Meera Sodha and Kaushy Patel
Ingredients
- 800g – 1kg Chicken Thighs or Breasts, Skinless
- 1 onion
- 2/4 cloves of garlic
- Fresh ginger grated (thumb sized)
- Coconut oil (tablespoon)
- 300ml Chicken Stock
- Ground cloves (1/4 tsp
- Tumeric (1/4 tsp)
- Cardamon seeds (1/2 tsp)
- Ground Cumin (1 tsp)
- Ground Coriander (1 tsp)
- Medium Curry powder (1 tbsp)
- Salt and pepper to taste
How to do it?
1. Trim all visible fat off the chicken, season well and set aside.
2. Spray/Brush a non-stick frying pan with a little oil and place over medium heat.
3. Add the onion and gently cook for a few minutes until soft/starting to brown (can add splash water if too dry)
4. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for a couple more minutes
5. Increase the heat and add dry spices and fry until their aroma comes up, adding tbsp of water a couple of times as it starts to catch and evaporating off again: I used curry powder, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, paprika, cardamom seeds, ground cloves and turmeric (don’t take your eyes off it at this stage)
6. Add the chicken, reduce the heat a little and cook until sealed
7. Add the tomatoes and stock. Note: if your frying pan is too small or has no lid, you can transfer to a larger pan or dutch oven; if you don’t have the stock you may need a splash of water if gets too dry
8. Bring to the boil then cover tightly, reduce to low heat, allow to simmer gently for 40-45 minutes, checking occasionally until the chicken is cooked through
9. Remove from the heat, adjust seasoning if needed and serve with e.g. rice, salad, sides, yoghurt and a garnish of fresh coriander and sliced green chillies.
