Mild Chicken and Spinach Curry

Ingredients

• 🍗Chicken Breast, boneless, skinless400 g
• 🥬Baby Spinach, washed100 g
• 🧅Yellow Onion, finely sliced1 onion
• 🧄Garlic, finely minced3 clove
• 🫚Ginger (ground)1 tsp
• 🧄Garlic Powder1 tsp
• 🧂Cumin (ground)2 tsp
• 🧂Coriander (ground)2 tsp
• 🧂Turmeric1 tsp
• 🧂Garam Masala1 tsp
• 🧂Cinnamon (ground)1 pinch
• 🧂Cardamom (ground)1 pinch
• 🌿Bay Leaves2 leaf
• 🥫Tomato Paste2 tbsp
• 🥣Plain Greek Yogurt150 g
• 🍲Chicken Stock200 ml
• 🫒Extra Virgin Olive Oil2 tbsp
• 🧈Salted Butter1 tbsp
• 🍚Jasmine Rice, to serve150 g
• 💧Water, for loosening the curry and cooking the riceas needed
• 🧂Table Salt, for seasoning the curry and rice waterto taste
• 🧂Black Pepper (ground), mild seasoningto taste

Contains Celery, Dairy, Garlic, Gluten, Mustard, Onion. AI-generated, checked against common allergens; always check labels.

Method

1. 1

   Slice the chicken

   On a chopping board, slice the Chicken Breast into bite-size pieces, about 2 cm wide, with the knife moving cleanly through the grain so the curry eats tender rather than stringy. Keep the pieces even; if a few are much thicker, trim them down now so they finish at the same time and don't stay pale in the centre.

   5 min
2. 2

   Slice the onion

   Peel the Yellow Onion, then slice it into thin half-moons on the chopping board so it softens quickly and almost melts into the curry. If the slices are too chunky, they can stay crunchy in the finished sauce, so aim for fine, even slivers.

   3 min
3. 3

   Mince the garlic

   Peel the Garlic Cloves and mince them finely on the chopping board until the pieces are tiny and damp, almost paste-like, so they melt into the oil instead of frying as sharp little bits. If any pieces stay large, mince them again; big chunks can catch and taste bitter later.

   3 min
4. 4

   Mix the spices

   In a mixing bowl, combine the Ginger (ground), Garlic Powder, Cumin (ground), Coriander (ground), Turmeric, Garam Masala, Cinnamon (ground) and Cardamom (ground) so the curry base is ready to tip in without delay. Stir them together until the colour looks even and fragrant, with no pale streaks left behind.

   2 min
5. 5

   Start the rice

   Rinse the Jasmine Rice under cold running Water in a sieve until the water runs noticeably less cloudy, then put it in a medium saucepan with fresh Water and a little Table Salt over medium-high heat. Bring it up to a lively boil, then lower the heat to low and let it simmer gently for about 12 minutes until the grains look swollen and the surface is just dotted with little steam holes; if it foams up, lift the saucepan off the heat for a moment and stir once. The rinse keeps the grains fluffy instead of sticky.

   15 min
6. 6

   Brown the chicken

   Set a large skillet over medium-high heat with the Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Salted Butter, then lay in the Chicken Breast in a single layer so the pieces make full contact with the surface. Leave them alone for about 4 minutes until the underside turns pale gold with a few deeper brown spots and the edges lose their raw sheen, then stir once and cook for another 2 minutes; if the skillet looks crowded, let them colour in two rounds instead of steaming. That first browning gives the curry its savoury base, so don't keep tossing them.

   6 min
7. 7

   Soften the onion

   Add the Yellow Onion and Garlic Cloves to the same skillet and stir steadily over medium heat for about 4 minutes, scraping up any browned bits so they dissolve into the oil. Cook until the onion turns soft, glossy and translucent at the edges, with the garlic smelling sweet rather than sharp; if the garlic starts to colour too quickly, lower the heat right away.

   4 min
8. 8

   Bloom the spices

   Tip the spice mixture into the skillet and stir constantly for about 45 seconds, coating the onion and garlic so the powders hit the fat evenly and the whole pan turns deeply fragrant. When the colour deepens and the spices smell warm and rounded rather than dusty, stir in the Bay Leaf and move on quickly; if the mixture looks dry, lower the heat and keep it moving so nothing scorches.

   1 min
9. 9

   Build the sauce

   Stir the Tomato Paste into the skillet and cook it for about 1 minute until it darkens slightly and smells sweeter, then pour in the Chicken Stock and scrape the base with the spoon so the sticky bits dissolve into the liquid. Let the sauce bubble for another 2 minutes until it looks smooth and slightly thickened; if it catches, add a small splash of Water and scrape again. This is the point where the curry turns from a spiced onion mix into a real sauce.

   3 min
10. 10

    Simmer the curry

    Return the Chicken Breast to the skillet and tuck it under the sauce, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 8 minutes until the pieces are cooked through and the sauce clings in a glossy layer. Stir in the Plain Greek Yogurt little by little so it disappears into the sauce instead of splitting, and if the curry looks too thick, loosen it with a small splash of Water; the sauce should turn creamy and lightly yellow, not curdled or oily. Keep the bubbling gentle, because a hard boil can make the yogurt separate.

    8 min
11. 11

    Wilt the spinach

    Scatter the Baby Spinach over the curry and fold it through for about 1 minute, using the spoon to turn the leaves from the outside in so they meet the steam evenly. Stop as soon as the leaves collapse into dark green ribbons and the sauce looks flecked with bright spinach; if you keep stirring after that, the colour will dull and the leaves will go soggy.

    1 min
12. 12

    Plate and serve

    Spoon the Jasmine Rice into bowls, ladle the Mild Chicken and Spinach Curry over the top, and finish with a few cracks of Black Pepper and a pinch of Table Salt if the sauce needs sharpening. The rice should stay fluffy under the sauce, and the curry should sit glossy and aromatic, with the spinach still bright enough to look fresh rather than cooked to khaki. Serve it right away while the sauce is hot and silky.

    2 min

Nutrition per serving