Brummie Balti with Chicken and Rice

For our Sunday lunch today we decided to throw tradition out the window and have the local specialty of a balti. I'm not sure why I called this dish a Brummie balti as the term balti originated from Birmingham anyway. There is a debate as to where the name came from but to me it is simply another Indian curry, and I love curry! As we are a stones throw away from Brum it would be rude not to give the dish a go but not wanting to stink the van out I'm cooking it on the cadac outside.

Ingredients:
(Serves a family of 5)

Paprika, 1 tsp
Cumin, 1 tsp
Coriander powder, 1 tsp
Garam masala, 2 tsp
Turmeric, 1/2 tsp
10 Cardamon pods, shell discarded, seeds removed and crushed
Cinnamon, 1/4 tsp
2x Onion, diced (or 1 large onion)
3x Garlic cloves, diced
4cm Ginger
Chopped tomatoes, 2 cartons 780g
1x Red pepper, diced
Fresh coriander, a bunch
Natural yoghurt
White wine vinegar, 1 tbsp
Sugar, up to 1 tsp
5x Chicken breasts, cut into pieces
Rice


Method:

1. In a big frying pan or wok heat a glug of oil and fry the chicken pieces in batches for a minute to seal then set aside.
2. Into the pan goes the onion to sweat off for 10 minutes, keep stirring.
3. Mix in all the spices and keep stirring for a couple of minutes.
4. Add the garlic, ginger and red pepper in. Keep stirring for another 2 minutes.
5. Pour in a cup of water and then the tomatoes.
6. Chop up the coriander stalks into the sauce.
7. Cook the sauce for about 15 minutes then blend with a hand blender. You might need to add some water if its too thick. Taste and season with the wine vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper.
8. Get a pan of water boiling ready for the rice.
9. Pop the chicken into the sauce and simmer for about 20 minutes or until cooked.
10. At the same time as the chicken goes in get your rice on the go.
11. Plate up with a blob of yoghurt and sprinkle over torn coriander leaves.


Tips:

1. If you like it hot then definitely add chopped chillis, With the seeds if you like it really hot, with the garlic and ginger. This was cooked for the kids too so I omitted heat but added a good glug of my favourite chilli sauce to my portion.
2. If you want to make it more balanced add some veggies like cauliflower or broccoli florets for the last 10 minutes.