Ingredients

• 4 boneless
• skinless chicken breasts (about 600g/1lb 5oz)
• freshly ground black pepper
• 25g/1oz low-fat natural yoghurt
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 large onions
• chopped (400g/14oz prepared weight)
• 4 garlic cloves
• peeled and sliced
• 20g/¾oz piece fresh root ginger
• peeled and finely grated
• 12 cardamom pods
• seeds crushed
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• ½ heaped tsp ground turmeric
• ¼ tsp hot chilli powder
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• small pinch saffron
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• plus extra to season
• 3 tbsp double cream
• fresh coriander
• roughly torn
• to garnish (optional)

Directions

• Cut each chicken breast into eight or nine bite-sized pieces
• season with black pepper and put them in a non-metallic bowl. Stir in the yoghurt
• cover with cling film and chill for a minimum of 30 minutes but ideally 2–6 hours.
• Heat the oil in a large
• non-stick saucepan and add the onions
• garlic and ginger. Cover and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes until very soft and lightly coloured. Stir the onions occasionally so they don’t start to stick.
• Once the onions are softened
• stir in the crushed cardamom seeds
• cumin
• coriander
• turmeric
• chilli powder and bay leaf. Pinch off the ends of the cloves into the pan and throw away the stalks. Cook the spices with the onions for five minutes
• stirring constantly.
• Stir in the flour
• saffron
• sugar and ½ teaspoon of salt
• then slowly pour 300ml/½ pint cold water into the pan
• stirring constantly.
• Bring to a gentle simmer
• then cover and cook for 10 minutes
• stirring occasionally.
• Remove the pan from the heat
• take out the bay leaf and blend the onion mixture with a stick blender until it is as smooth as possible. You can do this in a food processor if you prefer
• but let the mixture cool slightly first.
• The sauce can now be used right away or cooled
• covered and chilled until 10 minutes before serving.
• Drain the chicken in a colander over the sink
• shaking it a few times – you want the meat to have just a light coating of yoghurt.
• Place a non-stick frying pan on the heat
• add the sauce and bring it to a simmer.
• Add the chicken pieces and cream and cook for about 10 minutes or until the chicken is tender and cooked through
• stirring regularly. Exactly how long the chicken takes will depend on the size of your pieces
• so check a piece after eight minutes – there should be no pink remaining.
• Adjust the seasoning to taste
• spoon into a warmed serving dish and serve garnished with fresh coriander if you like.