Chicken Methi

This chicken methi recipe was passed on to me by my friend Paul (shout out to the Kime’s) who used to cook the delicious, aromatic dish when I would stay with them. Over the years I’ve made a few changes and, as I usually do, added more vegetables.  

Methi leaves are commonly found in Asian food shops, they are the dried fenugreek leaves.  Rich in vitamin K, calcium, vitamin A and B- vitamins, as well as antioxidants; fenugreek leaves are is used in Ayurvedic medicine for improving blood glucose and insulin response and strengthening the gut.

I serve the dish with Indian spiced greens, my version of saag aloo, pilau rice (either made with cauliflower or normal basmati, depending on my mood), and a paleo naan - all these recipes can be found here. 

Ayam’s coconut cream is the best, Its is free from preservatives, additives, water and the can lining is BPA free.

Prep time: 30 mins Marinade time: 2-24 hours 

Cook Time: 1 hr. 10 mins Servings: 4

Ingredients : 

Marinade:

• 5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 2cm pieces

• 1 cup / 245g of full-fat yoghurt (of your choice)

• ½ tsp of ground turmeric 

Garlic Paste: (makes extra and can be kept or used in other recipes)

• 1 head of garlic

• 5 - inch piece of fresh ginger

• 1 tsp of lemon juice

• 1 tsp of olive oil

Spice blend: 

• 2 tsp of cumin seeds 

• 2 tsp of coriander 

• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds 

• 1 tsp fennel seeds 

Methi: 

• 2 tbls of coconut oil

• 5 green cardamom pods, crushed to release the seeds 

• 4 cloves 

• 1 stick of cinnamon 

• 3 bay leaves 

• 1 tsp black mustard seeds 

• 3 onions grated or very finely chopped (I use my Thermomix for this)

• 2 fresh red chilies (finely chopped)

• ½ tsp crushed chilies (alter depending on how hot you like it) 

• ½ tsp turmeric powder 

• 1 tin of Ayam coconut cream (270ml) 

• 1 tbls of dried methi leaves

• 6 tomatoes skinned & chopped

• 1 courgette chopped into 1cm chunks

• ½ head of broccoli cut into small florets 

Method

Ahead of time: 

• Add all ingredients to marinate the chicken to a non-metallic bowl, pop in the fridge - this can be done ahead of time, it needs at least 2 hours. 

• Make the garlic/ginger paste by adding all ingredients to a food processor and blitzing till you get a paste consistency - this can be done ahead of time and stored in the fridge 

• Blitz the ingredients for the spice blend in a food processor

For the chicken methi: 

• Heat the oil in a large frying pan/wok over a medium-hot heat

• Add the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves & mustard seeds to the hot oil, once the seeds begin to pop, add the onion and cook until soft and brown - about 15 minutes. 

• Add 1 tbls of the garlic and ginger paste, the chopped chilies, and cook for another 3 minutes

• Add the spice blend, turmeric, crushed chilies, and season with salt and pepper.
  Add the chicken marinate, stir well, reduce the heat and add a cup of water.  

• Cover and cook for 30 minutes 

• Then stir in the tomatoes, coconut cream, and courgettes, cook uncovered for 10 minutes 

• Add the broccoli and methi leaves, stir and cook for a further 5 mins until the broccoli is bright green and tender.

Enjoy.