Spiced Chicken with Tomatoes and Spinach

Ingredients

500 g skinned, boned chicken thighs
150 g onions, finely chopped
4 green cardamom pods, split open at the top
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
5 cm cinnamon stick, broken in half
2 teaspoons garlic purée, or crushed garlic
2 teaspoons ginger purée, or grated ginger
½ teaspoon turmeric
50 g low-fat natural yoghurt
Salt
250g spinach, defrosted if frozen
225g canned chopped tomatoes
50g low-fat fromage frais
A pinch of garam masala

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Serves 4

Method

1.Trim any fat off the chicken thighs, then cut each in half. Put them into a large saucepan with the onions, cardamom, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, turmeric, yoghurt and salt to taste.

2.Place the pan over a medium-high heat and stir until the chicken starts sizzling. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken begins to release its juices, then reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and simmer for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.Meanwhile, chop the spinach, discarding any thick stems. If using defrosted leaf spinach, place it between two plates and squeeze out the excess liquid before chopping.

4.Uncover the saucepan and increase the heat to medium-high. Continue cooking for 5-6 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce has thickened, stirring frequently to prevent it sticking to the bottom of the pan.

5.Stir the tomatoes into the chicken mixture and continue to cook, uncovered, for 1-2 minutes until they are well blended into the sauce.

6.Add the spinach in batches, stirring well. As soon as the first batch begins to wilt, add the next and keep stirring. Reduce the heat to low and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes, or until the chicken juices run clear when the pieces are pierced.

7.Add the fromage frais and garam masala, stirring until well blended. Remove the cinnamon stick and serve.