Dairy-free dinner recipe for 4 people, takes only 30 mins; recipe has chicken breast, lime juice, paprika, chilli powder, groundnut oil, cinnamon stick, cardamom pod, green chilli, cumin seed, onion, garlic clove, ginger, turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander, garam masala, passata, red pepper, tomato, spinach, coriander and basmati rice.
Healthier chicken balti
Course: Dairy-free dinner
Servings
4
servings
Prep time
25 mins
Ingredients
- Chilli Powder: 1/4 tsp hot chilli powder
- Coriander: handful fresh coriander, chopped
- Turmeric: 1/2 tsp turmeric
- Red Pepper: 1 red pepper, deseeded, cut into small chunks
- Garlic Clove: 2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
- Chicken Breast: 450g skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
- Onion: 1 medium onion, coarsely grated
- Tomato: 1 medium tomato, chopped
- Lime Juice: 1 tbsp lime juice
- Paprika: 1 tsp paprika
- Ground Cumin: 1 tsp ground cumin
- Passata: 250ml organic passata
- Ginger: 2 1/2 cm-piece ginger, grated
- Cumin Seed: 1/2 tsp cumin seed
- Garam Masala: 1 tsp garam masala
- Basmati Rice: chapatis or basmati rice, to serve (optional)
- Spinach: 85g baby spinach leaves
- Ground Coriander: 1 tsp ground coriander
- Groundnut Oil: 1 1/2 tbsp sunflower or groundnut oil
- Cardamom Pod: 3 cardamom pods, split
- Cinnamon Stick: 1 cinnamon stick
- Green Chilli: 1 small to medium green chilli
Directions
- Put the chicken in a medium bowl. Mix in the lime juice, paprika, chilli powder and a grinding of black pepper (step 1), then leave to marinate for at least 15 mins, preferably a bit longer.
- Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large non-stick wok or saute pan. Tip in the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, whole chilli and cumin seeds, and stir-fry briefly just to colour and release their fragrance (step 2). Stir in the onion, garlic and ginger and fry over a medium-high heat for 3-4 mins until the onion starts to turn brown. Add the remaining oil, then drop in the chicken and stir-fry for 2-3 mins or until it no longer looks raw. Mix the turmeric, cumin, ground coriander and garam masala together. Tip into the pan, lower the heat to medium and cook for 2 mins (step 3). Pour in the passata and 150ml water, then drop in the chunks of pepper. When starting to bubble, lower the heat and simmer for 15-20 mins or until the chicken is tender.
- Stir in the tomato, simmer for 2-3 mins, then add the spinach and turn it over in the pan to just wilt. Season with a little salt. If you want to thin down the sauce, splash in a little more water. Remove the cinnamon stick, chilli and cardamom pods, if you wish, before serving. Scatter with fresh coriander and serve with warm chapatis or basmati rice, if you like.
