North Indian Chicken Curry - light & healthy!

As it had been ages since I had made a curry, I thought it was about time.  However, I hadn't quite banked upon this curry being quite so healthy!

Poor hubby was hoping for a lovely rich curry with a thick covering sauce involving coconut somewhere along the line.  What he got was a very well flavoured, hot and lively chicken curry that used the minimum of oil, no dairy products or other fats - but which had a somewhat watery sauce.  Having said that, the sauce wasn't "watery" in that it was thin and flavourless, it was just water-based as opposed to oil-based.

Once he'd got over his disappointment, I think he enjoyed the curry.  After all, what's not to like as it used ten different types of spice (quite apart from the Garam Masala) along with fresh tomatoes and coriander - and lo and behold, you find you've made a real proper masala as you go along.  Because I'd used a fresh chilli instead of the prescribed chilli powder (I just prefer the flavour of a fresh chilli), it was also hot and - for me - required the help of some Mango chutney to calm the occasional spoonful.

The recipe is one of Anjum Anand's and I have come to trust her recipes.  You can find it on the web here on the uktv.co.uk website.

I notice that on the website, there is a comment saying that the sauce was both bland and watery - which indeed it would be, if you don't ensure that you reduce it as far as you can.  Interestingly, I notice that the recipe makes no mention of reducing, it simply states that it takes between 15 minutes and 30 minutes for the chicken to cook, depending on the type of chicken you're using.  Now, in that time, the sauce will have had time to reduce - however, because the reduction is so important to the sauce, I have set out the recipe below and taken that into account.

I also included a lot more onion than is specified by the recipe.  This was really just because I'd over-bought on onions and had three bags (three!) of the little devils in the cupboard.  So I included three smallish onions in the recipe and I'd say they added both flavour and a bit of additional texture to the dish.  Hence, I've included them in the recipe below.

Not only that (and this is me "not titivating around with the recipe at all"), but I reduced the amount of ginger that was used.  Hubby has a sensitivity to ginger, so I reduced it by a half a tablespoonful to just the one tablespoonful.  The turmeric got a makeover too, I used one whole teaspoonful instead of just the half, purely because I had a cold at the time and I know turmeric is good for reducing inflammation.


So it is completely up to you as to whether you follow the original recipe from the website as given above, or my adjusted version, below!

CLASSIC NORTH INDIAN CHICKEN CURRY  based on the original by Anjum Anand  (serves 3-4)

Ingredients :

3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 green cardamom pods, squashed before adding to the pan
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 small to medium onions, halved, cut into three and sliced thickly
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
6 cloves garlic, sliced finely
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp ground coriander
half a hot red chilli, sliced
2 large tomatoes or 8 cherry tomatoes (I used cherries)
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
half a tsp garam masala
a handful of coriander leaves, chopped finely.

Method :

1.  Using a hand-held food processor in a jug-like container, puree the tomatoes and chilli.

2.  Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan or wok and add the cloves, cinnamon, cardamom pods and cumin seeds.  Fry for around 20 seconds or until aromatic.

3.  Add the onion and cook on a gentle to medium heat for around 10 minutes until golden brown, stirring regularly to prevent the onions burning or colouring too much.


4.  Stir in the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, for 40 seconds before adding a pinch of salt and the ground spices (you might want to take the pan off of the heat - or reduce it - as you do this, to prevent anything burning) and stir for 15 seconds or so as the spices cook.


5.  Pour on the tomato and chilli mixture and cook on a medium heat for around 10 minutes or until the moisture has left the pan and the oil is beginning to separate from the dry masala (which is what you have in the pan).


6.  Add the chicken and brown over a high to medium heat (turning the heat down as the chicken heats up).


7.  Add around 350ml of hot water and stir well.  Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has reduced as far as you are willing to let it go.  The slower it cooks, the better it tastes - so allow up to half an hour for this stage.


8.  Add the garam masala and fresh coriander and stir through.  Allow a few minutes for the rawness of both to be cooked out, then serve with steamed rice or indian flatbreads.


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Book Review : "I Love Curry" by Anjum Anand

When our son was still very little, we began feeding him curry.  This was for two very good reasons, as the both of us like little better than a great curry and the thought of it being off-menu because our son didn't like it, was too great a sacrifice.  As a consequence and one would hope, needless to say, we had to endure some fairly uninterestingly quiet and well-behaved curries but it was worth it, as today our son is as much a curryhound as the rest of us.

So, when the opportunity came up to take a look at Anjum Anand's new book "I Love Curry", of course I jumped at the chance.  I already had confidence in Anjum Anand, having seen her cook on the t.v. and having already made dishes that carried her name beside the recipe.

It's a jolly book, with recipes that fit well with the brightly coloured cover.  It carries a classic layout, being divided up into sections such as meat, fish and vegetable, so no difficulties there.  The photography, by Jonathan Gregson, is particularly enjoyable with most dishes depicted (except maybe the Sweet & Sour Squash, page 144) seeming to urge you to sample their flavours and textures.

One thing I will say, is that I thank goodness I live close to an ethnic shop where I can seek out some of the less well-known herbs and spices.  As I read through the book, I was muttering things like "well what the heck is Chaat Masala?" or "Panch Phoran? Whaaa?", however confidence was restored when I reached page 171 where Anjum has set out a "Spices 101", giving descriptions of the majority of spices and herbs mentioned in the book.  *phew*  That's a relief.

Another few pages of note begin at just page 8, where Anjum sets out some of the "secrets" to making a successful curry.  To my way of thinking, the book is valuable simply for some of the learning that is set out in these two pages!  As an example, the difference between Nigella and Mustard Seeds when placed in hot oil.  These are things that you could pick up through trial and error, but why go through the error, when Anjum has explained it all for you?  Sheer brilliance.

I've already marked out four dishes that I'll be including on our menu lists in the future - Tarka Dhal, Chickpea Curry, Prawn Patia and Mussels with Saffron.  I've also got several of the "Bites" in mind for the Christmas buffet.  You see, a "curry" covers a multitude of different recipes - and this book will help you to cook your way to an understanding of some of the major differences.

The book holds itself out as a recipe book for both the experienced cook and the beginner, but I'd say that it would be at it's most valuable in the hands of an "improving" cook.  One who had enough confidence with the genre to be able to play with the recipes and tweak them to their own personal taste, because there's plenty of room to be able to do just that.