This is a surprisingly easy storecupboard make, even though the list of ingredients looks quite long. Aside from the fenugreek leaves, which are sold by the box at pretty much any Indian grocer’s, if you like cooking curry it’s stuff you’ll likely have kicking around. It’s also quick and tastes fabulous the next day.

I tweaked this recipe from Hari Ghotra based on what I had at home.

 

Serves 3-4 with accompaniments

Cooking time: 40 minutes including prep

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 cups chicken breast or thigh fillet (or cold cooked chicken – I used the last of a roast chicken), cut into small bite-sized pieces
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • Half a teaspoon of salt
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 3 fat cloves of garlic, crushed
  • A thumb of fresh ginger, peeled and grated, or 1 tsp powdered ginger
  • 1 400g/14oz tin plum tomatoes
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed, or ground coriander
  • 2-3 green chillies, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp yoghurt
  • 150ml water
  • 3 rounded tablespoons of dried fenugreek leaves
  • 2 tsp garam masala (I used chat masala as it’s what we had)

 

Method:

Heat the oil in the pan and add the cumin and mustard seeds. Fry until the mustard seeds start to pop. Add the onion and fry gently until golden.

Add the ginger, garlic and turmeric. Give it a good stir. Then add the tin of tomatoes. If not chopped, break up the tomatoes in the pan a bit.

methi-curry-during

Add the chilli powder, chillis, coriander seeds  and salt. Stir it all up.

Now add the yoghurt, water and fenugreek leaves. Mix them in, lower the heat and cover the pan. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Add the chicken, stir, cover the pan and simmer for a few minutes. Then remove the lid and stir-fry the curry until the sauce is nice and thick.

Serve with rice or breads, some plain yoghurt and perhaps a sprinkling of fresh coriander if you have some.

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Next time, I’d be tempted to veg this up some more with some red peppers, maybe adding them early on so they get a little blackened from the frying pan.

This could also make a really nice veggie curry, either with red peppers and perhaps some courgette, or with red peppers and paneer.

Have you cooked any of Hari’s other recipes? They all sound delicious. I might have found a new source of curry inspiration!

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