When you find a brilliant curry recipe ....... {Dan Toomb's (The Curry Guy) Chicken Chasni}

I'm a big fan of spicy food and I love a curry, I'm not a big fan of the calories from an Indian takeaway. I love making my own curries and my "go to" blogs for curry recipes is The Curry Guy. I love his recipes and when I saw this one I had to give it a go myself. It was a great recipe that H and I shared on a Friday night whilst watching a film and congratulating ourselves on resisting the temptation to go out! I pretty much followed the recipe to a T and I really wouldn't change much about it - I just used coconut oil instead of oil so its a tad healthier, although at the end of the day a homemade curry is always a better option over a takeaway or even a jar of sauce!

Chicken Chasni

recipe can be found here

3 chicken breasts – skinned and sliced
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 onions – finely chopped
4 cloves garlic - finely chopped
1 x 2cm piece of ginger - finely chopped
2 x green chillies - finely chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp turmeric

400ml chopped tomatoes
3 tbsp mango chutney
2 tbsp mint sauce
3 tbsp ketchup
200ml milk
200ml double cream
 juice of one lime and one lemon
 4 tablespoons fresh chopped coriander

place the chicken pieces in a large bowl and stir in the turmeric and the lemon juice. marinate for about 20 minutes while you make your sauce. heat the oil in a pan over medium high heat. when the oil begins to bubble, throw in the chopped onions and fry for about five minutes until translucent and soft. add the chopped garlic, ginger and chilli and allow to sizzle before adding the cumin and paprika and fry for a further minute. pour in the chopped tomatoes and the fresh coriander. place the onion mixture in a blender with the mango chutney, mint sauce, ketchup and the coconut milk. blend for about a minute until very smooth. wipe the pan clean and add a drop more oil into it if needed.
add the chicken pieces and brown them for a couple of minutes. add the blended sauce and simmer until the chicken is cooked through. then add the double cream and simmer for a further few minutes.
season to taste, squeeze the lime juice over the top and garnish with coriander.

An unusual vegetable .... And my 2014

.... or Okra if we want to use its correct name.

Okra, or ladies fingers

I love Okra, I often order it when I'm having an Indian takeaway. I am not having takeaways any more. It doesn't fit with the "new year, new me" kind of thing. No processed food, no cheeky cigarette (yeah i do that), more exercise - who am I trying to kid?! I've actually started exercising, no sugars, just good clean food. Maybe this will become a more "healthy" eating blog. Maybe. I've lost 7lbs in two weeks it makes standing on the scales not as scary as it used to be. Add to this dry January. Dry as in no drinking alcohol. I haven't touched a drop since New Years Eve; that in itself is intoxicating. And surprising.

The boyfriend has made a chart - I get a blue dot sticker everyday that I go without booze and every Sunday I get a purple sticker for the weight loss. I'm not sure what that makes us but it works for me, I like seeing progress. Those 12 dots on there this morning made me happy.

Back to Okra. A healthy curry for you to enjoy which is pretty simple to make.

Okra Curry

3 DSP Vegetable oil
125g Okra, cut into pieces
1 onion, sliced thinly
1 green chilli, sliced thinly
1DSP ground coriander
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1" fresh ginger, finely chopped
1DSP Garem Marsala
1TSP Cumin seeds
1TSP Turmeric
1TSP Hot chilli powder (go for mild if you want less of a kick)
300ml water
4 small or 2 large tomatoes, diced

Heat 2DSP of the oil in a wok and add in the Okra, I know this is technically frying but you only use a bit of oil and the rest of the dish is so healthy that this is a small niggle only. Plus you have to fry okra so its not slimy! Cook for around 7-9 minutes and then add the coriander and cook for a further couple of minutes. Take the okra out of the pan and then add the rest of the oil along with the chilli and onion. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the garlic and ginger. After another few minutes add the rest of the spices and the tomatoes and water and then let it simmer for 10 minutes or so. Stir in the okra and cook for another 5 minutes or so and then its all ready. I served with a baked chicken breast