Chicken balti is one of those immense curries that packs in loads of flavour in a fairly short cooking time – no slow cooking required here. That makes it perfect for a weeknight dinner.
It’s often tempting to use one of those jars of curry sauce to make a quick curry on a busy evening. Don’t do it! This is just as easy, but you’ll get something that’s absolutely singing with flavour, rather than a flat meal that’s not at all satisfying.
Balti is a great curry – it’s got spice, zing and a touch of sweetness from red bell pepper. It’s perfect alongside a mild curry – like my butter halloumi, some white rice and maybe naan bread. You could also serve with a Courgette and Coconut Dal or Bottom-of-the-Freezer Vegetable Dahl.
Ingredients, Substitutions and Variations
- Vegetable oil – or you could use ghee.
- Onion, garlic and ginger – this makes the base of your curry. You can use frozen minced garlic and ginger to make things easier.
- Green chilli – this brings the spice, so use as much or as little as you like!
- Red bell pepper and tomato – these vegetables bring an irresistible freshness and sweetness to the curry.
- Tomato puree – make sure you use proper tomato puree, not chopped tomatoes or passata.
- Tandoori masala and madras powder – these two spice mixes combine to make for a beautiful curry. They’re easy to buy online, or you can make your own at home – there are plenty of spice mix recipes online.
- Chicken – I used skinless and boneless thigh – for me, it’s the most flavourful bit of chicken. However, you could use chicken breast.
- Coriander and lime – optional, to serve.
Top Tips
- This curry needs plenty of stirring – We cook it fairly quickly, so make sure you stir often to cook it evenly and ensure that nothing burns.
- The flavour is at the bottom – When you add the water, use your wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan. There will be amazing flavour in the crust at the bottom – make sure it gets into your curry!
- This is a dry curry – Not a saucy one, so you may think there isn’t enough liquid at first. You just need enough to coat everything and cook the chicken, that’s all.
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Chicken Balti
May 10, 2024A quick and delicious chicken balti curry packed full of spice and flavour.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion peeled and diced
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and diced
- 2 inch piece of ginger peeled and diced
- 1 green chilli diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 tomato diced
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tbsp tandoori masala
- 1 tbsp madras powder
- 320 g boneless skinless chicken thigh cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 small handful fresh coriander leaves to serve
- 1 lime to serve
Instructions
- Pour the vegetable oil into a large saucepan and put on a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for approximately ten minutes, stirring regularly, until it starts to caramelise.
- Add the ginger and garlic. Cook for another two minutes until it’s really fragrant.
- Add the chilli, tomato puree, red pepper and tomato. Stir well, then add the tandoori masala and madras powder. Give it another good stir, and cook for another two minutes.
- Add the chicken. Cook for around five minutes until the chicken is starting to brown.
- Tip in 100ml cold water. Stir well and get all of the flavour from the bottom of the pan. Cook – stirring frequently- for another ten minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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