Healthy dinner recipes: Chicken and goji curry with spiced cauliflower ‘rice’

Beverley Hicks
Beverley Hicks7 March 2016

A South Indian inspired chicken curry with goji berries for a tangy flavour pop and added health benefits.

Ingredients (makes enough for 6 servings)

For the curry

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

2 onions, chopped

Fat thumb ginger, peeled and finely grated

1 teaspoon each: turmeric, chilli powder, asafoetida, ground cumin, ground coriander

750g chicken breast meat, cut into bite-size pieces

1 x 400g tin tomatoes

500ml home-made chicken stock

1 x 400ml tin reduced fat coconut milk

A handful of fresh curry leaves

100g green beans, trimmed and quartered

1 medium red pepper, deseeded and chopped

1 medium green pepper, deseeded and chopped

1 tablespoon tamarind paste

100g spinach, roughly chopped

50g goji berries

Himalayan pink salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the cauliflower ‘rice’

1 large cauliflower

½ tablespoon coconut oil

½ teaspoon each: black mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida, turmeric powder

1 small red onion, finely chopped

Roasted cashew nuts, chopped

2 sprigs fresh curry leaves

Himalayan pink salt and freshly ground black pepper

Squeeze lemon juice

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Method

To make the curry

Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan and add the mustard seeds. Stir around in the hot oil until they start to pop. Tip in the onions and ginger and cook for 2-3 minutes until the onions have softened slightly. Add all the spices to the pan and mix well to combine, continue to cook for further 2 minutes.

Add the chicken pieces and fry on all sides to get a good colour, this will also ensure a better flavour.

Turn up the heat and pour in the tomatoes, chicken stock and coconut milk, bring to the boil then reduce the heat. Add the curry leaves, green beans, peppers and tamarind paste and simmer for 30 minutes.

Stir in the spinach and goji berries. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

To make the cauliflower rice

Chop the cauliflower into small pieces and pulse in a food processor until it resembles rice.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add all the spices and cook gently for 1-2 minutes. Tip in the onions and cook for a further 2 minutes until softened slightly. Add the cashew nuts, curry leaves and the prepared cauliflower and mix well. Turn the heat down to low and cook gently until all the excess moisture from the cauliflower has evaporated. Season to taste with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Serve the curry in bowls sprinkled with extra goji berries and the cauliflower rice on the side.

Food facts

Asafoetida, or “hing”, is an extremely pungent spice extracted from a plant of the giant fennel family and is frequently used in Indian and Middle Eastern cooking. It has a very strong, garlicky smell which disappears with cooking. If you love the taste of garlic but are either intolerant or unable to consume it for religious reasons, Asofoetida can be used as a substitute as the taste is somewhat similar.

Nutritional info

Per serving: Calories 502 | Protein 49g | Carbohydrates 26g | Fat 21g | Fibre 7g

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