YOGHURT CHICKEN CURRY RECIPES

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a deep frying pan. Season the chicken strips and brown quickly all over until sealed (you may need to do this in batches adding the third tablespoon of oil, if needed). Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate.

Add the onions and fry for a few minutes, then cover, lower the heat and fry for 10 minutes, until softened.

Remove the lid, increase the heat and add the ginger root, garlic and chilli and fry for 1 minute. Sprinkle in the ground spices and fry for a few minutes more. Sprinkle over the flour then stir in the stock and bring to the boil, until thickened.

Add the mango chutney and return the chicken to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the chicken is tender. Add the yoghurt or cream and serve hot.

The curry can be made without adding the yoghurt up to a day ahead. Reheat gently to serve and stir in the yoghurt. The curry also freezes well without the yoghurt. Simply reheat as above when needed.

If using an Aga, first soften the onion in the simmering oven for 15 minutes. Add the chicken and return to the same oven for 10 minutes. Continue on the boiling plate.

1. Peel and slice the onion. Peel the ginger and garlic, then finely chop or grate them on a microplane.
2. Heat a lug of oil in a large pan over a medium heat, add the onions and cook for around 8 minutes, or until softened and slightly golden, stirring regularly. Add the ginger and garlic cook for a further 2 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, mix the tikka masala paste, yoghurt and tomato purée together in a bowl. Halve and add the chicken thighs to the bowl. Stir everything together and get all the chicken covered in the paste mixture.
4. Scrape everything into the pan, making sure you get all the paste mixture in there. Cook the chicken for 5 minutes or so, or until you see it start to colour.
5. Add the tinned tomatoes, drained lentils and coconut milk. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add splashes of water to loosen, if needed.
6. When the time’s up, stir in the spinach (if using) and allow it to wilt. Next add the mango chutney and taste for seasoning.
7. Pull the chicken apart with forks and stir it through. Serve with wholemeal basmati rice and yoghurt on the side, if you like.

1. Peel the onions, garlic and ginger and deseed the peppers.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Pour in 500ml of boiling water. Drain the chickpeas and add along with the tomato purée and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then stir well.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.