Low-Salt Quick Chicken Curry

I have always loved my curries...beef vindaloo, butter chicken, chicken tikka masala, malai kofta. You name it I'd eat it - pre-Meniere's of course. I've had some great curries over the years in many an Indian restaurant but I thought that this might have ended when I got Meniere's. Unfortunately, most restaurants add salt or artificial seasoning to their curry recipes and because curries are generally prepared a day or two ahead, it is nearly impossible to order a low-salt curry just by turning up.

The fact is, however, that many curries don't actually need to have added salt given the amazing array of spices and flavours used. I found out several years later when I started enquiring that there is no reason why a good Indian restaurant cannot pre-prepare a low salt curry for you if you give them enough notice. I've done this successfully in the city I live in (Sydney, Australia) and places I've been to around the world such as New York and London.

But we all can't afford to eat at an Indian Restaurant every night so I satisfy my craving for some chicken curry by making my own quick version. Although not as creamy and mouth-watering as some of the curries I have had in restaurants, the following recipe tides me over quite well (ingredients for 1 person):

2 pieces of chicken thigh
1 cup of low-fat European or Greek-style yoghurt
2 tablespoons of low-salt Tomato Paste concentrate
1 chopped chilli
3 to 4 teaspoons of Garam Marsala or a cumin/cardamom mix - sample other spices you might have available to suit your pallet
3 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup water
1 cup basmati rice

For preparation mix the youghurt and tomato paste together and stir well until it forms a consistent pink mixture (make sure that you have removed any little white lumps from the yoghurt by stirring well) - place aside until ready to add to the saucepan. Then chop the chicken into cube like pieces.

Start cooking by sauteeing the chopped chilli with the olive oil until the chilli starts to soften.

Then add the chicken pieces to the chilli and mix for a minute or so until the chicken just starts to whiten.

Then add in the yoghurt mix and the water and stir thoroughly until you get a consistent mixture. Then add in the spices, stir well again, and place a lid on the mixture after it starts boiling. Keep on a high simmer and stir every 2 minutes.

After ten minutes or so you'll notice the mixture getting quite thick. This is where trial and error comes into it. I like my mixture thick and don't add any more water to it but some like it creamier so add small quantities of water to it every 5-10 minutes or so and keep stirring until they are happy with the consistency of the mixture. It really does depend how quick you want your quick curry to be. The more care you take in getting the consistency right the better and more mature the curry will be but then it wouldn't be a quick curry would it!

When you are happy with you curry, place in a separate bowl so as you can place over a plate of basmati rice, which has been cooked as per the packed instructions whilst you have been tending to the curry.

I hope this works as well for you as it does for me!