Recipe Chicken Curry with Methi Leaves

[Morning Glory]

Mainly cooked from freezer contents! The frozen methi leaves are an excellent product. 'Methi' is fenugreek which in Western cooking is mainly used in seed form. The leaves are wonderful and very pungent. The way I made this was as a virtually fat free curry, as I used caramelised onions cooked without oil (technique to be posted later). The only fat I used was in the yoghurt. However, I've included oil in the the recipe and the usual method for caramelising onions.

Ingredients (serves 1 - or 2 as part of 'several dish' curry meal)
1 boneless/skinless chicken breast, chopped into bite sized pieces
1 medium onion, finely sliced
1 tbsp oil
1 heaped tsp ginger/garlic paste
½ tsp each of ground asafoetida, coriander, cumin, turmeric, garam masala
1 heaped tsp of chopped frozen methi leaves (or use a small bunch of chopped fresh leaves)
⅓ tin of tomato passata
3 tbsp plain yoghurt
1 Scotch bonnet chilli
A few fresh curry leaves
Coriander leaves to garnish

Method

1. Fry the onion slices slowly in the oil until they become golden brown and significantly reduced. This will take at least 45 minutes.
2. Add the garlic/ginger paste to the pan, plus a little water. Cook over a medium heat for a few minutes.
3. Add all the ground spices and fry for another 30 seconds. Add a little more water if the mixture is too dry.
4. Add the methi leaves, tomato passata and the yoghurt. Stir well.
5. Pierce the Scotch bonnet in several places with a sharp knife and add to the sauce.
6. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add salt to taste.
7. Add the chicken and the curry leaves and simmer gently until the chicken is cooked through (approximately 20 minutes)
8. Serve with flatbread or rice.