StudentEats

Chicken or Vegan Masala recipe

Updated

This is such an easy recipe for chicken masala, super cheap and it takes 10 minutes to prepare, though needs about 50 minutes cooking time.

You will need a hand blender though.

Tip: This actually tastes better heated up the next day, so I usually make the sauce in advance and add the chicken or vegetables the when I heat it up. I often make a batch of sauce and use it through the week for instant meals as the sauce keeps well.

Ingredients

To make 1 serving

  • Onions 2
  • Cloves of garlic 4
  • Vegetable oil
  • Tin chopped tomatoes 1
  • Bay leaves 2
  • Cumin seeds 1 tsp
  • Salt 1 tsp
  • Ground coriander 1 tbsp
  • Turmeric 1 tsp
  • Chili powder 1 tsp
  • Garam masala 1 tsp
  • Meat eaters: two large chicken breasts
  • Vegans: half a punnet of mushrooms, a big mug of frozen peas or chickpeas, a tablespoon of malt vinegar

How to make Chicken or Vegan Masala:

  1. Roughly chop the onion, garlic and ginger then blend to a paste.
  2. Heat a generous amount of oil in a heavy pan over a medium heat.
  3. Add the bay leaves and cumin seeds, after a few seconds (as soon as the aroma comes, but before they burn) add the paste and salt.
  4. Cook this over a low heat until the onion browns, but careful it doesn’t burn, about half an hour.
  5. Add the spices, tomatoes and chicken. Cook for a further 20 minutes.
  6. If you are making the vegan version add the vinegar, fry the mushrooms and add them with the peas at the end and cook for just another few minutes. Chickpeas can be added with the tomatoes but frozen peas go mushy if added too early.
  7. Garnish with fresh coriander if you have it. Serve with rice and if you want to reduce the heat from the chili serve with yogurt or sour cream.
  8. For the vegan version I replace the dairy by adding a tablespoon of malt vinegar to the sauce, it doesn’t reduce the heat but adds a nice tang.