Chicken and cauliflower curry served with cumin rice

Serves:

4

Time:

1 hr 0 min

Bring some spice to your dinner table with this fragrant curry accompanied by tasty cumin rice

Ingredients

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For the curry

• 6 chicken thighs, boneless, without skin
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 4cm ginger, chopped
• 4 green chillies, finely chopped, seeds removed if preferred
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 tsp Madras curry powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 cauliflower, broken into small florets
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander

For the cumin rice

• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 250g basmati rice
• 3 cardamom pods
• 1 x 5cm cinnamon stick

Method

1. Cut the chicken into 4cm pieces and leave on one side.

2. Heat a small, sturdy frying pan or griddle over a low heat and dry roast the cumin and coriander seeds for about a minute, stirring all the time, until you catch a fragrant aroma. Grind the spices to a powder using a pestle and mortar.

3. Tip the garlic, ginger and green chillies (leave the seeds in if you prefer a fiery flavour) into the same mortar and continue pounding with a pestle until paste-like. You could also use a small food processor for this. Set aside.

4. Heat the vegetable oil in a deep frying pan and gently soften the onions for 3-5 minutes. Add the spice paste from the mortar and cook on a gentle heat until the onions turn golden.

5. Stir in the tomatoes, Madras curry powder and turmeric. Fry for a further 10 minutes until the tomatoes have cooked down and darkened.

6. Add the chicken pieces and simmer for 10 minutes in a covered pan.

7. Tip in the cauliflower florets and continue cooking, in a covered pan, until tender – about 10 minutes.

8. Stir in the garam masala and finish with chopped coriander.

9. While the curry is cooking, make the rice. Heat a sturdy frying pan or griddle over a low heat and dry-roast the cumin seeds for about one minute, stirring all the time. They should take on a warm and nutty aroma. Transfer to a plate.

10. Heat the oil in a large pan and soften the onion, garlic and roasted cumin seeds for about 5 minutes.

11. Add the rice to the pan, stir well and pour over about 400ml hot water – or enough to cover the rice and leave an extra 2cm depth of water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer until the grains are tender and the water has evaporated – about 5-7 minutes. Fluff the grains up with a fork before serving.

Nutritional information

Allergy advice

Contains: Garam masala sometimes contains mustard and/or sesame.

Food safety tips

Always wash your hands, work surfaces, utensils and chopping boards before you start cooking and after handling raw meat. Keep raw poultry away from ready-to-eat foods such as salad, fruit and bread. Make sure that the chicken is cooked until steaming hot all the way through, that no pink meat is left and that any juices run clear. Any leftovers should be cooled within one to two hours and placed in the fridge (for up to two days) or frozen. When reheating, always make sure that the dish is steaming hot all the way through before serving. Never reheat food more than once. Cook the rice as required, use immediately or cool within one hour and refrigerate, use within 24 hours.