Recipe: Mark a drool-worthy end to Monday with chicken in jalfrezi sauce

When life gives you Monday, dip it in a chicken curry. Boost immunity and enjoy a dinner packed with health benefits with this simple recipe of authentically flavoured mild-heat curry of chicken in a jalfrezi sauce and thank us later.

Your Monday thoughts set the tone for your whole week so see yourself getting stronger and living a fulfilling, happier and healthier life with a bowl of chicken in a jalfrezi sauce which is enough to serve 2 or 4 people. When life gave us Monday, we decided to dip it in a chicken curry and that’s when we stumbled upon a recipe of mouthwatering chicken in a jalfrezi sauce.

Boost immunity and enjoy a dinner packed with health benefits with this simple recipe of authentically flavoured mild-heat curry of chicken in a jalfrezi sauce and thank us later:

Ingredients for sauce:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

80g (3oz) root ginger

3 cloves garlic

1 large onion

400g (2½ cups) chopped tomatoes with their juice

2 tablespoons ready-made Jalfrezi curry paste

Ingredients for the dish:

4 chicken quarters on the bone

Salt to season

1 tablespoon oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 red pepper roughly diced, 1-2cm (½ inch) pieces

1 green pepper roughly diced into 1-2cm (½ inch) pieces

4 tomatoes cut into quarters

2 teaspoons garam masala

Ingredients for garnishing:

3 tablespoons natural yoghurt

A good handful of freshly chopped coriander

Method to make the sauce:

Peel and chop the ginger, garlic and onion. Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in the casserole on the hob over a low to medium heat. When the oil is hot add the mustard and cumin seeds, cook for one minute.

Add the chopped ginger, garlic and onion and continue to cook until softened. Add the chopped tomatoes and curry paste. Stir well and cook for a couple of minutes.

(Optional: If you like a hotter curry add either a fresh chilli or ¼ teaspoon of dried chilli flakes.)

Turn off the heat, cool a little then add the contents of the pan to a processor or blender and blend until smooth. Wash and dry the casserole.

Method for cooking the chicken:

Heat the oil and butter in the casserole over a low to medium heat. Season the chicken portions with a little salt and add to the pan. Brown on both sides to seal the meat.

Add the blended sauce to the chicken in the pan, put on the lid and cook over a low heat for about 40 minutes stirring at least once during the cooking time.

(Optional: The sauce should be thick but if it becomes too dry add a little water.)

After 40 minutes stir in the peppers, tomatoes and garam masala .Continue to cook with the lid on for 10–15 minutes until the peppers are tender.

Before serving, spoon the yogurt on top of the curry and sprinkle over the chopped coriander. Accompany with rice and warm Indian breads.

(Recipe: Le Creuset India)

Benefits:

Consuming chicken boosts immunity and has added health benefits of improving the nervous system. It also regulates digestion and eliminates weakness.

Chicken is one of the best foods for protein which aides in building muscles. It is also very rich in vitamins and minerals which help in preventing cataracts or migraine, keeps skin disorders at bay along with heart disorders, gray hair, high cholesterol, and diabetes.

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