Punjabi chicken curry

Wendy Barrie: Food writer

Ingredients:

10 ml rapeseed oil (or light vegetable oil)
1 medium onion (peeled and sliced)
400 g chicken
15 g fresh ginger (peeled and grated)
1 tsp turmeric
2 pieces cardamon (crushed)
½ tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp cumin
1 sliced green pepper (or red pepper or 75g mushrooms or 1 medium carrot if left over.)
1 can chopped tomatoes
small pinch salt (and a twist of freshly milled pepper)
50 g cashew nuts (optional)
150 ml natural yoghurt (any sort but not flavoured)
2 tbsp fresh coriander (chopped)
150 g basmati rice (or any long grain if not available)
1

Method:

Heat oil in wok or frying pan and lightly fry onion until softened.

Add raw meats now and brown in pan - if the meats are already cooked then add later with canned tomatoes and heat thoroughly through.

Add all the spices and or curry powder. fry with onion and meat for a couple of minutes to bring out the flavours.

Add vegetables and stir for a couple of minutes.

Add tomatoes, nuts and any cooked meat. Season and simmer for 10 minutes to thoroughly heat through and for the tomatoes to reduce into a thick sauce. This is best with a lid on to start with but if your pan does not have one, just top up with a little water if the mixture looks too dry.

Now boil rice in lightly salted water according to the timing on the packet - usually about 10 minutes.

Drain rice and divide between 2 heated plates. Stir yoghurt into curry and heat gently for a couple of minutes - do not boil - and serve with rice.