You’ll have to excuse the lack of ‘how to’ photos. I’m positive I took them but just can’t find them but this dish is so, so easy to make and if you can slice an onion and a chicken breast and open a couple packets (not that is made from packet mixes), you’ll be fine making this dish.
As I always say, it’s best to have a fully stocked pantry with all the essentials so you can create a tasty dish with little or no effort. To make this creamy curry I used a small long life box of cream (not sure if that’s available in all parts of the world but it’s a lifesaver) and normal curry powder. A tin of coconut milk would work just as well. I used to have all the Indian spices that went into a good curry but no one in the house likes it as much as me so they all went to waste. A traditional curry powder will still give you a lot of flavour similar to an Indian curry.
The spinach was frozen and the brand I get comes in blocks so you only use the amount you need. If you have an abundance of spinach (or silverbeet or chard) you can quite easily make your own blocks by blanching in hot boiling water for a minute or so, cool in cold water, drain and briefly blitz or chop. Fill an ice cube tray or small containers with the mixture and freeze. It’s too easy.
I also had a serving for 2 of boiled rice in the freezer. Whenever I cook rice for a meal, I cook up about 2-3 cups of it and use what I need for that meal and freeze the rest into ziplock bags, enough for a serving of 2. To defrost, I put the frozen rice in a dish, pour boiled water over it and within a couple minutes it’s warm enough to eat. Sometimes you might need to give it a quick minute blast in the microwave to make it hot.
With a little bit of preparation, having a well stocked pantry and basic ingredients, keep your money in your wallet, avoid takeaway food and make this scrummy dish at home in about 10 minutes flat.
Indian Chicken & Spinach Curry (from the pantry)
- 1 chicken breast, diced
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1 tablespoons crushed garlic
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- mushrooms (optional)
- frozen spinach
- longlife cream or a can of coconut milk/cream
- 1-2 tablespoons curry powder
- salt & pepper
- fresh coriander (if you have it, to serve)
- boiled rice (to serve)
- If you’ve got frozen pre-cooked rice, heat by pouring boiling water over and when defrosted, drain well. If not, put 1 cup of rice on to boil.
- In a pan, fry the chicken, onion and garlic.
- Add the curry powder and stir until it becomes aromatic.
- Add the longlife cream or coconut milk/cream and stir well.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Add frozen spinach and any other vegetables/herbs you might have.
- Once spinach has warmed through, serve over rice.
