03/01/2023
If you have that fresh start feeling and are getting a bit fed up of all the roast dinners, cheese and chocolate,what about having chicken tikka masala for dinner tonight.
Let me know if you try it.
🤩Recipe of the Week 🤩
🤩Chicken tikka masala 🤩
It’s the nation’s favourite dish, and for good reason. Our version features marinated chicken thighs and a creamy, subtly spiced sauce. Best of all, it’s Free, so it ‘tikkas’ the slimming box, too!
🤩Ingredients 🤩
⭐️160g fat-free natural yogurt
⭐️Seeds from 6 cardamom pods, crushed
⭐️Juice of 1 lime, plus wedges to serve
⭐️6 garlic cloves, crushed
⭐️6cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
⭐️4 tbsp tikka curry powder*
⭐️8 large skinless and boneless chicken thighs, visible fat removed, cut into large chunks (see tip)
⭐️Low-calorie cooking spray
⭐️1 large onion, finely chopped
⭐️500g passata
⭐️4 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, plus extra to serve
*Watch out for spice/seasoning blends that have added ingredients (like sugar, oil or starch). To protect your weight loss, count ½ Syn per level tsp/1½ Syns per level tbsp.
* You can swap the chicken thighs for 4 skinless and boneless chicken breasts or 700g skinless turkey breast steaks, roughly chopped.
🤩Method 🤩
⭐️Put 100g yogurt in a large bowl and stir in the cardamom, lime juice, half the garlic, half the ginger and half the tikka powder. Add the chicken and toss well, then cover and chill for 3-4 hours, or overnight if possible (if you’re in a hurry, 30 minutes is better than nothing!).
⭐️Spray a wide non-stick saucepan with low-calorie cooking spray and put it over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and the rest of the garlic and ginger, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
⭐️Add the passata, coriander and remaining tikka powder and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer briskly for 20-30 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
⭐️At the same time, preheat your grill to high and line a baking tray with foil. Arrange the chicken chunks on the tray and grill for 15 minutes or until cooked through, turning occasionally.
⭐️Blitz the sauce until smooth with a stick blender (or use a food processor and return to the pan). Bring back to a simmer, then season to taste, remove from the heat and stir in the rest of the yogurt. Stir the chicken chunks into the sauce and serve with lime wedges, rice (we cooked ours with a little ground turmeric and stirred through some chopped chilli), Speed veg or salad and with the extra coriander scattered over.
