Ingredients
2 cloves of garlic
1-2 fresh red chillies
5 cm ginger
2 onions
groundnut oil , or vegetable oil
1 cinnamon stick
2 fresh bay leaves
12 green cardamom pods
6 skinless free range chicken thighs , (500g)
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin
1 heaped teaspoon ground coriander
4 ripe tomatoes
100 g low-fat natural yoghurt , plus extra to serve
½ a bunch of fresh coriander
Method
- Peel the garlic and deseed the chillies, then roughly chop and place into a pestle and mortar.
- Bash to a rough paste with a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Peel, finely chop and add the ginger, then bash to break it down. Peel and finely chop the onions.
- Heat a lug of oil in a large non-stick pan over a medium heat, add the cinnamon, bay and cardamom, stir for 1 minute, then add the onions. Reduce the heat slightly and fry for 15 minutes, or until softened but not coloured.
- Chop the chicken into 2.5cm chunks and add to the pan. Turn the heat up to medium, fry for a few minutes, then stir in the chilli paste. Cook for 2 minutes, add the remaining spices and mix well.
- Halve and roughly chop the tomatoes, then stir them into the pan.
- Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for around 15 minutes, or until the tomatoes have softened and broken down.
- Add the yoghurt and cook for a further 10 to 15 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and the sauce has thickened and reduced.
- Pick, finely chop and stir in most of the coriander leaves, season to taste, then serve with brown rice, a dollop of yoghurt and the remaining coriander leaves scattered on top.
