CHICKEN JALFREZI

I visited Balti House Rishton in Lancashire after hearing great things about the chef and owner Hussain Rashid. He invited me to come and watch him cook and asked what I’d like to see him prepare. I could see fresh tomatoes, green bird’s- eye chillies, peppers and onions, so I chose a jalfrezi. It’s a quick stir-fry, usually served quite dry with crunchy vegetables – this is my interpretation.

Serves 4 or more as part of a multi-course meal 4tbsp rapeseed oil

1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced

1 red pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced

3 green bird’s-eye chillies, roughly chopped 2tbsp finely chopped coriander stalks (roughly chop and reserve the leaves, to garnish)

2tbsp garlic and ginger paste (see tip across the bottom of pages 70-71)

6tbsp tomato purée (see tip across the bottom of this page) or plain Italian passata, sieved 2tbsp mixed powder (see page 71)

1tsp chilli powder (optional)

500ml (18fl oz) diluted base curry sauce (see page 70), heated

700g (1lb 8oz) pre-cooked stewed chicken

(see page 71), plus 100ml (3½fl oz) of its cooking stock

2 tomatoes, quartered

1tsp dried fenugreek leaves (from supermarkets)

Salt

1tsp garam masala

Green finger chillies, cut in half lengthways

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium- high heat then add the sliced onion, pepper, green chillies and coriander stalks. Mix this all up in the pan and sauté until the vegetables are beginning to cook through but are still crisp. Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and fry for about a minute.

Add the tomato purée or passata, mixed powder, chilli powder and 250ml (9fl oz) of the base curry sauce. This will begin to bubble straight away. Add the chicken, stock and the rest of the base curry sauce.

Let the curry simmer over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, without stirring unless it is obviously catching on the pan. If the sauce begins to caramelise around the edges of the pan, stir this back into the curry.

Add more base curry sauce or cooking stock if the sauce is becoming too thick. About 2 minutes before serving, add the quartered tomatoes and the dried fenugreek leaves.

When the tomatoes are cooked through but still crisp and you are happy with the consistency, season with salt to taste and sprinkle with the garam masala. Finish by garnishing with the chopped coriander leaves and sliced green finger chillies.