Chicken Balti

A fragrant and medium-spicy curry that is surprisingly simple to make, enjoy with naan's or poppadom's and mango chutney with a good helping of basmati rice.


Serves 2-4

1 Large white onion, chopped
1cm piece of ginger,peeled and finely chopped
3 Cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 Green chillies, one de-seeded (keep the seeds in both if you like it hot!), chopped
2 Tablespoons tomato puree
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Fenugreek seeds
1 tsp Fennel seeds
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Garam masala
150ml Vegetable or Chicken stock
Half teaspoon Cinnamon
Handful of fresh coriander
2-4 Chicken breasts, cubed or 8 Chicken thighs,skinless,boned and cut into cubes
Vegetable oil

1. Add all the seed's into a dry frying pan on a low-medium heat for around 2-4 minutes until the seeds release their fragrances and toast slightly.

2. Place the toasted seeds into a pestle and mortar ( if you do not have a pestle and mortar then the end of a rolling pin and a mixing bowl will do just fine) and grind the seeds to a powder.

3. Add a splash of vegetable oil to the pan and continue on a low-medium heat, add the onions,ginger, garlic and chilli and cook for around 5-10 minutes to soften the onions.

4. Add the spice powder, the turmeric and garam masala to the pan and stir in the tomato puree, cook for around 2 minutes to bring the mixture together, this will form the balti paste.

5. Transfer the paste to a blender and add 25ml of the stock, blitz until smooth.

6. Add a little more vegetable oil to the pan, season the chicken with a little salt and fry until white all over, add in the sauce and the remaining stock and the cinnamon powder, stir and leave to simmer on a medium heat for around 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. If the sauce becomes too dry then simply add a little more stock or water.

7. Sprinkle in the fresh coriander and serve.