Chicken, Spinach & Green Bean Curry

I often cook a curry on Monday nights as I tend to spend the afternoon at my parents house and get home late.  I literally have to haul the kids from the car to their beds and need something that can easily be re-heated.  Making curries at mum's is great because

a) I can stick mine in the microwave whilst I tuck the kids in to bed upon arriving home

b) DH plays football on Monday nights so he can re-heat his at 9.30pm while I am generally falling asleep on the sofa

c) Mum's array of spices is better than mine

d) If I dawdle around too much, mum will take over and make it for me

My parents were born and raised in India and their Anglo-Indian heritage means I was raised on a certain type of Indian cuisine that you just don't see in our English style curry houses.   Mum's cooking naturally doesn't require loads of oil or ghee.  A tablespoon of vegetable oil is more than sufficient making it very diet friendly.  Over the years I have learnt a few of my mum's recipes which will feature on here at some point.  For now though, enjoy Monday nights curry for just 12 propoints.

You’ll need for 4 people:

• 500g chicken breast cut into big chunks
• Bag of fresh spinach
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 pack of fine, trimmed green beans, cut in half
• 300g dried brown basmati rice or white if you prefer
• 150g pot of low fat or fat free natural yoghurt
• Handful of chopped coriander
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 dsp ground coriander
• 1 dsp cumin
• 1 dsp paprika
• 1 tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 dsp garam masala
• 1 tsp lazy garlic
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 1 tsp mild curry paste (try Pataks, cumin & coriander)
• Squeeze of lemon or a few drops of fresh concentrated lemon juice from a bottle

What to do:

• Heat the vegetable oil in a large heavy based saucepan and add the onions
• In a mug add all the spices, curry paste, garlic, ginger and lemon juice and fill with water to the top to form a runny cream like consistency
• When the onions are soft, add the spice mix and fry on a high heat for a few more minutes.  It is important to cook out the spices and you can tell when they are cooked as the oil with rise to the surface of the mixture
• Next add the chicken, stirring thoroughly.  Add some more water, rinsing out the cup you used for the spices to cover the chicken
• Add the natural yoghurt, season and turn down the heat slightly
• Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, Add the green beans and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the spinach a couple of minutes before the end of cooking
• Serve with cooked basmati rice and a sprinkling of fresh coriander

Weightwatchers Propoints: 12