Chicken, Okra and Tomato Curry with Sesame
Its national curry week in the UK! To celebrate, here is a new recipe I developed this week. You can make this dish as hot or mild as you wish according to the amount of chilli powder added. You can also use the same basic sauce for pork are for a vegan version swap the meat for cauliflower, chickpea or quorn pieces.
The home made sesame paste adds a creamy richness to the sauce. You can substitute tahini if you wish but the flavour of home made paste is (in my opinion) much better. Its also less calorific.
Adding tomatoes at the end of cooking gives the dish a tangy lift, contrasting with the rich sauce.
Photographed today in daylight.
Ingredients
600g skinned chicken fillets (I used thigh fillets)
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
6-7 okra (I used frozen) chopped into rings
2 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
Toasted sesame seeeds (to garnish)
For the masala paste:
25g fresh turmeric (chopped) or 1 heaped tsp powdered turmeric
100g fresh ginger, chopped
50g garlic, peeled
100g onions, chopped
1 heaped tsp coriander seeds (ground)
1 heaped tsp cumin seeds (ground)
3 tbsp water
1 heaped tsp hot chilli powder
For the sesame paste:
25g toasted white sesame seeds
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Water as required
(or substitute 1 tbsp tahini paste for the above)
Method
Its national curry week in the UK! To celebrate, here is a new recipe I developed this week. You can make this dish as hot or mild as you wish according to the amount of chilli powder added. You can also use the same basic sauce for pork are for a vegan version swap the meat for cauliflower, chickpea or quorn pieces.
The home made sesame paste adds a creamy richness to the sauce. You can substitute tahini if you wish but the flavour of home made paste is (in my opinion) much better. Its also less calorific.
Adding tomatoes at the end of cooking gives the dish a tangy lift, contrasting with the rich sauce.
Photographed today in daylight.
Ingredients
600g skinned chicken fillets (I used thigh fillets)
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
6-7 okra (I used frozen) chopped into rings
2 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
Toasted sesame seeeds (to garnish)
For the masala paste:
25g fresh turmeric (chopped) or 1 heaped tsp powdered turmeric
100g fresh ginger, chopped
50g garlic, peeled
100g onions, chopped
1 heaped tsp coriander seeds (ground)
1 heaped tsp cumin seeds (ground)
3 tbsp water
1 heaped tsp hot chilli powder
For the sesame paste:
25g toasted white sesame seeds
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Water as required
(or substitute 1 tbsp tahini paste for the above)
Method
- For the masala: place all ingredients into a blender and reduce to a thick paste.
- For the sesame paste: finely grind the toasted seeds and then mix in the oil and enough oil to produce a thick paste.
- Heat the oil or ghee in a large pan. Add the masala and the sesame paste and heat through adding water if required, to produce a thick sauce.
- Cut the chicken into chunks and add to the sauce (no need to pre-cook chicken). Bring to a simmer and leave to cook gently until the chicken is cooked through (25 mins). Add more water if the sauce reduces too much.
- Add the okra and and tomatoes and cook for another five minutes or until okra are just cooked.
- Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
- Serve with rice or flatbreads