Sweet Red Pepper Chicken Curry
I realise it’s been a while since I’ve last blogged about any family meals. So here you go! I created this curry because my little one absolutely LOVES bell peppers! She’ll quite happily eat them raw (washed and deseeded), and frequently munches on a whole pack of three whilst watching her favourite show – Peppa Pig. In fact, one of the best ways I’ve found to keep her occupied is to literally whack a bell pepper in her hand and let her munch on it. It’s fresh, colourful enough for kids, and rich in vitamins A and C, and B vitamins. A winner all around! Suitable for toddlers 12+ months.
In this curry I’ve used a red bell pepper to form the main base of the curry sauce. It still contains all of those lovely aromatic Indian spices, but this curry has a unique taste that is loved by our whole family so I thought I’d share it with you.
Try it for dinner tonight… it only takes half an hour.
Serves a family of 4. Total preparation and cooking time: 30mins
Ingredients
50ml (2fl oz) olive oil
1 onion – peeled, chopped
3 whole cloves
1 small cinnamon stick
3 cardamom pods – green
4 black peppercorns
1 red bell pepper/ capsicum – washed, roughly chopped, deseeded
6 garlic cloves
Ginger root – 1” piece, peeled
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
1 ½ tsp ground coriander
200g (7oz) tinned peeled plum tomatoes - crushed
1 tsp dark brown sugar
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder to taste
500g (1lb 2oz) chicken thighs – cubed, fat-trimmed
Method
Heat the oil in a pot and add the onion, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and peppercorns. Stir-fry until the onions are browning.
Whilst the onions are browning, place the red pepper, garlic cloves and ginger into a blender and blend into a paste. Once the onions have browned, add the red pepper paste, turmeric, cumin and coriander and lightly cook the spices for 1-2mins stirring continuously.
Then add the tomatoes by gently crushing them with your hands and dropping them in, followed by the brown sugar, salt and red chilli powder. Then let the sauce simmer on medium-low heat for about 5mins.
Add the chicken to the sauce and cook covered for 15-20mins or until the chicken is tender. Stirring occasionally.
Garnish with freshly chopped coriander/ cilantro and serve with freshly cooked rice, naan or roti.
Note: If you don’t want to include salt or chillies in your little ones serving, cook the entire curry as described above but without adding these two items. Add them at the end when you have removed a serving for your little one.
