Chicken tikka masala with fragrant rice
From the yoghurt marinade to the accompanying aromatic rice, this chicken curry is delightful - and healthier than getting a takeaway!
Serves: 2
Prep time: 10 mins (plus 12-24 hours marinating time)
Cooking time: 45 mins
Per serving: 526 calories
For the marinade:
1 tbsp tikka masala curry paste
150g 0% fat Greek yoghurt
2 free range chicken breasts, each cut into 5-6 large chunks
Salt
For the fragrant rice:
100g basmati rice
Salt
5 curry leaves
½ tsp black mustard seeds
1 cinnamon stick
A pinch of saffron (optional)
For the sauce:
1 rounded tbsp tikka masala curry paste
1 onion, finely chopped
200g passatta
200ml tin reduced fat or light coconut milk
1 tbsp 0% fat Greek yoghurt
A handful of coriander, chopped
1. To make the marinade: mix the curry paste, yoghurt, chicken and salt together, cover and leave overnight in the fridge to absorb all the delicious flavours.
2. Preheat the oven to 220ºC/Fan 200ºC. Wipe the marinade off the chicken and place, piece by piece, onto a baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes or until slightly charred, but not cooked through. (You're just trying to get some colour here because the chicken will finish cooking in the curry sauce.) Set the tikka chicken aside while you make the sauce.
3. Heat the curry paste in a saucepan. Add the onion and sweat slowly over a low heat for 5 to 8 minutes or until the onion is translucent and soft. Add the passatta and coconut milk and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and add the tikka chicken. Cook over a low heat for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
4. Finish by stirring through the yoghurt and coriander.
5. To make the fragrant rice: add the rice, a pinch of salt and the aromatics to a pan and cover with enough water to come 1cm over the top of the rice. Bring to the boil and simmer for 8 minutes, covered. The rice should have absorbed almost all of the water, but still be a bit wet. Remove from the heat and leave to absorb the remaining water for 10 minutes, covered. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving with the curry.
Top tip: It is important to take the time to cook the onion slowly - because it will then release its natural sugars, producing a sweeter dish - but be careful not to do this over too high a heat because the curry paste will burn.
This recipe is from "Cook Yourself Thin": The Delicious Way to Drop a Dress Size from Amazon, priced £5.99
More recipes:
Fruity chicken curry
Cauliflower and egg pilau
Chicken recipes
Where to next?
The truth about chicken and eggs
Matt Roberts on keeping healthy tins in the cupboard
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