Sali murghi

Jaggery is unrefined cane sugar and has a distinctive flavour that adds a caramel richness to Indian dishes. If you can’t get hold of any, use soft brown sugar instead.

SERVES 6-8 PREP 20mins COOK 55 mins EASY G 21/2 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil 8 chicken thighs

1 cinnamon stick

5 green cardamom pods, bashed, seeds removed

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 onions, finely chopped 2 green chillies, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

5cm piece ginger, roughly chopped

1 tsp each ground coriander, garam marsala, Kashmiri chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric 3 medium tomatoes, around 300g, finely chopped (or blitzed) 2 tbsp white wine vinegar 2 tsp jaggery (or soft brown sugar)

150g dried apricots (use the soft, ready-to-eat type)

1/2 small pack coriander, chopped

Sali (optional)

1 large potato, peeled and sliced into matchsticks (see tip) vegtable oil, for shallow frying

1 Melt 1 tbsp of the ghee in the pan and add the chicken, skin-side side down. Once the skin is golden and crisp (around 5 mins), remove from the pan and set aside (you may need to do this in batches). Melt the remaining ghee in the frying pan, add the cinnamon, cardamom and cumin seeds, and fry until fragrant, around 5 mins. Stir in the onions in along with a big pinch of salt and fry for 5 mins until browning in places. 2 Blitz the the green chilli with the garlic and ginger, add to the pan and cook for 2 more mins, then stir in the spices and cook for a few mins more, splashing in a little water to prevent the spices from sticking. Tip in the chopped tomatoes. 3 Return the chicken to the pan, coating it with the curry base, then splash in the white wine vinegar followed by the jaggery. Add 100ml water, then cover and simmer for 30 mins. Remove the lid and stir in the apricots and coriander, then cook for 10-15 mins longer, until the gravy reduces.

4 Meanwhile, make the sali. Pat the potato matchsticks dry with kitchen paper. Pour vegetable oil into a small, deep saucepan until it’s a few cm deep, and heat over a medium-high heat. Add a handful of the potato matchsticks at a time and fry for around a minute, until golden and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on kitchen paper and season generously. Serve the curry with the sali piled on top.

GOOD TO KNOW 2 of 5-a-day • gluten free

PER SERVING (6) 385 kcals • fat 23g • saturates 8g • carbs 18g • sugars 16g • fibre 5g • protein 24g • salt 0.3g