Chicken Madras

This recipe is a fakeaway version of a classic Indian restaurant or takeaway dish. Perfect to serve with rice or naan bread. It is also gluten and dairy free, and can be easily made into a vegetarian meal if required.

Preparation time - 30 minutes
Cooking time - 1 hour

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 medium onions

1 tbsp ginger paste

2 tbsp garlic paste

5 dried red chillies

9 tbsp vegetable oil

1 fresh green chilli

1/2 fresh red chilli

1 tsp salt

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp garam masala

3 chicken breasts

300ml water

Fresh coriander, to garnish

To cook

1. Roughly chop the onions, as they will be blended later. 

2. Fry the onions in 6 tbsp of the oil on a med / high heat for 5 mins.

3. Add the dried red chillies, ginger and half of the garlic. Fry for 5 mins on a medium heat.

4. Transfer the fried onions to a jug, along with the salt.

5. Chop the red and green chillies lengthways.

6. On a low / med heat, fry the fresh chillies and remaining garlic in the remaining 3 tbsp of oil. Fry till the garlic begins to brown.

7. Add half of the tomatoes and cook for 2 mins.

8. Measure the cumin, coriander, chilli powder and turmeric.

9. Add the spices to the fried chillies and tomatoes and cook for 5 mins.

10. Chop the chicken into large bite-size pieces.

11. Add the chicken to the pan and fry until the chicken is cooked on the outside.

12. Add 200ml of the water. Bring to the boil then simmer for 30 mins.

13. Add the remaining tomatoes to the jug along with the remaining 100ml water. Blend gently until the chillies and onions are blended smooth.

14. Add the blended mixture to the chicken, along with the garam masala. Simmer for a further 30 minutes.

15. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve.

Alternatives

This dish can be made vegan by replacing the chicken with potato pieces.

The coriander garnish is optional.

This dish is quite spicy, so reduce the chillies if you prefer it milder.

The curry goes well with plain boiled rice, which helps to counteract the heat.