Moroccan(esk) Chicken Curry (served with cauli rice)

Prep time: 30 minutes 

Cooking Time: 1.5 hours (or you can leave in the slow cooker for 8-hours, to get the chicken super tender, this is my preferred way of cooking the curry)

Serves: 4

Ingredients for the chicken stew: 

• 4 chicken thighs

• 1 tsp salt

• 2 onions, chopped

• 1 garlic bulb

• 2 carrots, sliced

• 2 stalks celery, sliced

• good knob root ginger, minced

• 1/2 tsp paprika

• 3/4 tsp ground cumin

• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

• 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper

• 1/4 tsp ground turmeric

• 350ml chicken stock

• 250g passata

• 1/2 (400g) tin chickpeas, drained

• Juice of one lemon

• 3 courgettes, sliced 

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Ingredients for the Cauli Rice:

• 1 whole large cauliflower, cut into florets 

• Knob of butter 

• Pinch of salt 

Method: 

1. Sauté the onion, garlic, carrots and celery in same pan. When tender, stir in the ginger, paprika, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper and turmeric; stir fry for about 1 minute. 

2. Add the chicken and brown.

3. Add the stock and passata and simmer for 60 minutes or on a low heat for 8 hours (in a slow cooker). 

4. Add chickpeas and courgette to pan and bring to simmering once again; cover pan and cook for about 15 minutes, or until courgette is cooked through and tender. Stir in lemon juice. 

5. Once you have added the courgettes and chickpeas. Put the cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until they reduce to rice size pieces.

6. Once the cauliflower is down to rice-size pieces, put the butter on a low heat in a pan and melt. Add the cauliflower and cover with a lid – to ensure the cauliflower can cook its own heat for 6-8 minutes (or until tender) – lift the lid every 2 minutes and stir to ensure that no cauliflower gets stuck to the bottom. If it does start to stick, add a tsp of water and continue.

7. Plate up the ‘rice’ and the curry and enjoy. I usually make double batches of the curry and freeze half

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