It’s Because You’re Chicken

My Curry Cauldron

Luckily for me, I love chicken, but more than that I love the sauces and condiments which go together to make chicken the perfect textured meat to have with a tasty sauce. My favourite chicken cookbook is “Best Chicken Cookbook”. It’s not specifically gluten free and by now it’s ancient but still available on Amazon (see below) and is packed with tasty, simple and complex recipes.

This is one I tried last week with great success. The plan is to make more tomorrow and freeze it for convenience. I’m a fan of curries that taste good, not melt your face so this one is perfect. You can also choose which curry powder to add of course, mild, medium, hot etc.

Serves 4 (Or 2 if you’re eating a lot of protein)
8 Chicken legs (thighs or drumsticks) (Personally I used fillets because they were cheaper and I don’t have to pick it off the bone)
30ml/2tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion thinly sliced
1 garlic clove crushed
15ml/1tbsp curry powder
15ml/1tbsp gf plain flour (this is for thickening, you might require some more than this. Use half of this amount for corn flour)
450ml (3/4pt) (1 3/4cups) chicken stock
1 beefsteak tomato (I didn’t have one & just used a big ordinary tomato)
15ml/1tbsp mango chutney (Any tangy chutney is good in here)
15ml/1tbsp lemon juice
salt & black pepper (salt is optional, the lemon juice will do the same thing in bringing out the flavour)
plain boiled rice to serve (I used brown rice to keep it healthy)

In a saucepan/casserole dish large enough to hold all of the chicken:
Cut chicken legs in half
Heat the oil & brown the chicken on all sides (you’re basically frying the outside to seal in the moisture)
Remove the chicken & keep warm (I wrapped it in some aluminium foil and left in the oven at 60C)

Add the onion & crushed garlic
Cook until soft

Add the curry powder
Cook for 2 minutes
(It’s worth sniffing at this point, mmm)

Add the flour
Gradually blend in the chicken stock & seasoning (not the lemon juice)

Bring to the boil
Put the chicken back into the pot
Cover & simmer for 20-30 minutes or until tender (check your juices run clear & the chicken is hot all the way through)

Skin the tomato by blanching in boiling water for 45 seconds then run under cold water to loosen the skin
Peel & cut into small cubes (you don’t need the skin)

Add the tomato to the chicken
Add the mango chutney
Add the lemon juice
Heat through gently & adjust seasoning to taste (this is where I added a little more flour to thicken it up but too much will congeal in lumps and you’ll have to quickly whisk it with a fork to break them up)

Add the chicken to the boiled rice & pour over the tasty sauce.

Enjoy!