CASHEW BUTTER CHICKEN

My kids love butter chicken, and when you make it yourself, you can be sure that you know what’s in it. The cashews give a soft sweetness as well as being a great source of good fats, zinc, selenium and tryptophan, making it a wonderful skin- and mood-boosting dish.

SERVES: 4

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes (plus four hours’ marinating time) COOKING TIME: 35 minutes 1kg skinless chicken thigh fillets, quartered

2 tbsp roasted cashews, chopped ●● 1 large handful coriander leaves, ●● coarsely chopped to garnish Cooked quinoa, to serve ●● For the chicken marinade:

125g natural yoghurt ●●

Juice of 1/2 lemon ●●

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped ●● 4cm knob of ginger, peeled and ●● coarsely grated

1 tsp garam masala ●●

1/2 tsp ground turmeric ●●

1/2 tsp ground cumin ●●

1/2 tsp chilli powder ●● For the sauce:

75g raw cashews, soaked in cold ●● water for four hours

250ml coconut cream ●●

2 tbsp ghee ●●

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped ●● 4cm knob of ginger, peeled and ●● finely grated

1 tsp ground cumin ●●

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon ●●

1/2 tsp garam masala ●●

1/2 tsp chilli powder ●●

375ml passata ●●

1 For the marinade, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Add the chicken and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate for four hours.

2 To make the sauce, drain and rinse the raw cashews and place in a blender or food processor and blitz. Add the coconut cream and blend until smooth. Set aside. Heat the ghee in a large frying pan over low heat, and then add the garlic and ginger and cook until the garlic is soft. Add the spices and cook until fragrant, then add the passata and simmer for five minutes.

Finally, add the cashew cream and 160ml of water and gently simmer for 10 minutes.

3 Meanwhile, preheat a large frying pan or heavy-based saucepan over high heat. Once very hot, cook the marinated chicken pieces in batches until browned. Add the chicken to the sauce and stir to coat. Cook for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve the cashew butter chicken scattered with roasted cashews, coriander and quinoa.