Hairy Bikers chicken curry recipe

The Hairy Bikers chicken curry is low in saturated fat, serves six and is on the table in 55 minutes. 

Healthy eating doesn’t have to mean boring meals with no flavour or fun. This curry recipe from Si and Dave proves that food that is good for your body can be great for your tastebuds too. They use chicken breasts which are lean and protein-rich and a number of clever spices to make sure the flavour is punchy and satisfying. 

Ingredients

• 1kg boneless chicken breasts, cut into big chunks
• 1½ tsp ground black peppercorns and coriander seeds
• ¾tsp garam masala (blend of Indian spices, which you'll find in your local supermarket)
• 1tsp paprika
• 1½ tsp turmeric
• ½tsp red chilli flakes
• 2 fresh tomatoes, sliced
• Handful of fresh coriander, chopped
• 3 bay leaves
• 450ml water

For the tarka masala sauce:

• 3tbsp sunflower oil, ghee or olive oil
• 2tsp cumin seeds
• 2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
• 1 head of garlic, cloves peeled and chopped
• Small tin of chopped tomatoes
• 5cm piece of root ginger, peeled and chopped
• 2 whole green chillies

Method 

1. For the tarka masala sauce: Heat the oil in a large pan until fairly hot, add the cumin seeds and fry for 10 seconds. Add the onions and fry until golden brown, then add the garlic and fry until slightly golden. Drain the tomatoes (keep the juice) and add them to the pan. Next add the ginger, chillies and cook until the oil begins to separate.
2. Put the chicken, salt, spices and chilli flakes into the pan and cook over a fairly high heat. Keep turning the chicken and continue to cook until the meat is sealed and browned and the liquid has evaporated. Add the juice from the can of tomatoes and about 450ml of water, bring to the boil and simmer over a medium heat for about 15 minutes or until the chicken is tender. Add the fresh tomatoes about 3 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
3. Sprinkle in the fresh coriander and bay leaves and serve with chapatis, boiled rice or puris (another popular Indian bread), if you like.

Watch how to make this Hairy Bikers chicken curry

Top tips for making the Hairy Bikers chicken curry

Remove the seeds in hot peppers before cooking. This reduces the heat for our kids but still leaves some flavour for the adults. To cool it down even more for little ones, you can serve with some natural yogurt.

Jessica Ransom

“When I make a curry, I try to make a double batch and freeze half in portions for future dinners. Spending the time to cook once means you’ll simply have to defrost the curry overnight and you can have a tasty meal that’s quicker and tastier than ordering a takeaway.”

Mums Know Best: The Hairy Bikers' Family Cookbook by The Hairy Bikers (Orion, £20) - View at Amazon 

If you want to serve a comforting dessert or need more main course inspiration, Si and Dave have plenty more recipes for you to choose from. The minced meat plate pie looks like a real winter warmer.

For more delicious dinner inspiration from Si and Dave, try the Hairy Bikers’ Spanish chicken. You might also like Gordon Ramsay’s butter chicken recipe or Wagamama’s katsu curry recipe.