Chicken chickpea curry

• 2 onions
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
• 2 yellow peppers
• 1 cube chicken stock
• 1-2 fresh red chillies
• ½ a bunch of fresh coriander
• 1 teaspoon runny honey
• 1 level teaspoon ground tumeric
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 8 higher-welfare chicken drumsticks
• olive oil
• 1 x 400 g tin of chickpeas
• 1 teaspoon tomato purée
• 320 g basmati rice
• 1 lemon

• Optional:

• fat-free natural yoghurt, to serve

Method

'Pukka' is an Indian word for the real deal or authenticity, hence the name of this dish. It's not because I'm a cocky Essex boy, nor, as some not-so-nice journalists once said, because of my annoying 'estuary accent' (whatever that means). Anyway, this curry is delicious – the meat falls off the bone, it's great value and it looks phenomenal.

Peel the onions, garlic and ginger and deseed the peppers. Put 1 onion, 1 pepper, the garlic and ginger into a food processor. Crumble in the stock cube and add the chilli (deseed it first, if you prefer a milder curry), the coriander stalks, honey and spices, then blitz to a paste.

Place a large casserole pan on a medium-high heat and fry the chicken drumsticks (pull the skin off first, if you prefer) with a splash of oil for 10 minutes, or until golden, turning occasionally with tongs. Remove the chicken to a plate, leaving the pan on the heat. Roughly chop the remaining onion and pepper and add to the pan to cook for a few minutes, then tip in the paste and let it cook down for around 5 minutes. Pour in 500ml of boiling water. Drain the chickpeas and add along with the tomato purée and a pinch of salt and pepper, then stir well. Return the chicken to the pan, pop the lid on, reduce the heat and simmer gently for around 45 minutes, or until the sauce darkens and thickens.

With 15 minutes to go, put 1 mug (320g) of rice and 2 mugs of boiling water into a pan with a pinch of salt and simmer with the lid on for 12 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed. Serve the curry in the middle of the table with a few dollops of yoghurt (if using) and a scattering of coriander leaves, with lemon wedges for squeezing over and the fluffy rice on the side.

Egg & Curry Beans

Ingredients:

6 – 8 jumbo Nulaid eggs
60 ml canola oil
15 – 30 ml mild curry powder
6 curry leaves (optional)
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
65 ml flour
400 ml prepared chicken or vegetable stock
15 ml cider vinegar
30 ml tomato paste
45 – 65 ml brown sugar
generous pinch of dried red chilli flakes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
250 g sliced green beans
1 x 425 g can butter beans in brine, drained
lemon zest and whole coriander leaves

Method

Boil the Nulaid canola-fed eggs to your liking. Plunge them in cold water and when cool enough to handle, remove the shells. Cut in halves, season to taste, cover and set aside.

Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the curry powder. Fry briefly until aromatic. Add the curry leaves (if using) and onion and sauté until onions are translucent. Sprinkle in the flour and stir until smooth. Add the stock, vinegar, tomato paste, brown sugar and chilli flakes. Season to taste and reduce heat. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes or until the sauce is thick and the onions are soft.

Add the green beans and cook a further 3 minutes or until the beans are cooked al dente. Add the butter beans and stir until heated through.

Pour the sauce in a serving dish, top with the eggs, garnish and serve with Basmati or brown rice and tomato-and-cucumber sambal.

Serves 6

Chef's hint:

Naturally, you can add more spice if you like or less, if you don't.

Chickpea chicken curry

Chickpea-chicken curry

1. Warm 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté 1 chopped onion, 1 Tbsp curry powder, 2 cloves minced garlic, 2 tsp minced ginger, and a seeded, diced jalapeño pepper.

2. Add 1 (14.5-oz) can diced tomatoes and their juices, 1 (15-oz) can drained, rinsed chickpeas, and the breast meat from a rotisserie chicken, shredded. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes, until fragrant. Makes 4 servings.

3. Serve over brown basmati rice (keep it to ½ cup per serving) and top with a dollop of low-fat yogurt and chopped fresh cilantro.