Chicken curry

Cooking is like therapy for me and gives me a good excuse to take a break from studying, of which I have been doing very little a lot!

Tonight I made a Chicken Curry - which has become something of a signature dish for me.

Here is the finished masterpiece!

The recipe is below with some photos to boot.

No-Fuss Chicken Curry

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Serves: 2

300g (about!) mini chicken fillets

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp ground tumeric

sea salt

1 tbsp lemon juice

oil, for frying

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

2cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp chilli powder

10 cherry tomatoes

1/2 pint chicken stock

10 curry leaves - optional

1. Cut the chicken fillets into 1 inch x 1 inch cubes (or there abouts!!). Mix together the garam masala, half of the ground tumeric, sea salt and lemon juice to make a paste. Rub the paste over chicken and leave in a bowl to marinate for at least 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat some oil in a frying pan and fry the onion, ginger and garlic until softened. Add the coriander, chilli powder and the remaining tumeric and continue frying for a minute or so. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock and - if using - curry leaves and gently simmer for 15 minutes.

3. In a hot frying pan, heat some oil. Put the chicken, along with any marinate, in the pan. Seal the chicken "cubes", making sure they have a lovely golden colour - this doesn't take long. Then add the chicken to the pan of stock and gently simmer for around 20 minutes until the chicken is well cooked through.

4. Serve with the lemon rice.

Lemon Rice with Cashews and Chilli

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves 2

1/4 tsp ground tumeric

100g basmati rice

1/2 red chilli

25g cashew nuts

juice of 1.2 lemon

1/2 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped

1. Bring the water for the rice to the boil. Add the tumeric, then the rice, and cook as per instructions. When ready, drain and return to the pan.

2. Meanwhile, gently fry the chilli and cashew nuts in a small frying pan, then add to the rice and mix through. Stir in the lemon juice.

3. Mix in the coriander and serve.

Now, Celebrity Big Brother - gotta love crappy TV!