Name: Chicken Balti Curry
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 2 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee; 2 large (500g) brown onions, peeled and diced; 4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped; 1 thumb ginger, peeled and roughly chopped; 1 medium carrot (80g) peeled and roughly chopped; 1 piece Herbie’s Whole Cassia Bark; 1 tsp Herbie’s Ground Kashmiri Chilli Powder; 1 tbsp Herbie’s Medium Madras Curry Powder; 2 Herbie’s Indian Brown Cardamom Pods; 1 tsp salt; 1 400g tin crushed tomatoes; 2 tbsp tomato paste; handful of fresh coriander leaves; 800g lean chicken, lamb or pork, cut into bite-sized pieces; 1 medium onion, peeled, halved and sliced; 1 red capsicum, cut into strips on the short side; 1 ripe tomato, diced; 1 1/2 tbsp Herbie’s Medium Madras Curry Powder; 1/2 tsp salt; coriander and fresh chilli (optional), to serve

Chicken Balti Curry

Balti curries hail from Birmingham, UK and not India. They were developed to be a ‘quick cook’ curry, cooked and served in a cast iron Balti pan (similar to a small wok). The key part to a Balti is making the ‘base gravy’ ahead of time, then adding your fresh ingredients and gravy to serve within minutes. We use our Medium Madras Curry Blend in this dish, adding some Cassia Bark and Indian Whole Brown Cardamom Pods for depth of flavour. While this is not a ‘hot’ curry, you can use our Mild Madras Curry Blend instead for an even milder version.

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins

Yield: Serves 4

Category: Curry

Cuisine: Indian

Scale

Ingredients

Balti sauce:

2 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee

2 large (500g) brown onions, peeled and diced

4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

1 thumb ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

1 medium carrot (80g) peeled and roughly chopped

1 piece Herbie’s Whole Cassia Bark

1 tsp Herbie’s Ground Kashmiri Chilli Powder

1 tbsp Herbie’s Medium Madras Curry Powder

2 Herbie’s Indian Brown Cardamom Pods

1 tsp salt

1 400g tin crushed tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato paste

handful of fresh coriander leaves

Curry:

800g lean chicken, lamb or pork, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 medium onion, peeled, halved and sliced

1 red capsicum, cut into strips on the short side

1 ripe tomato, diced

1 1/2 tbsp Herbie’s Medium Madras Curry Powder

1/2 tsp salt

coriander and fresh chilli (optional), to serve

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Instructions

For gravy, cook onions in oil over low heat for 5 minutes then add garlic, ginger and carrot. Stir for 1 minute before adding spices and salt. Continue stirring for another minute, then stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, coriander and 500ml (2 cups) of water.
Cook on a low boil for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove cassia bark and cardamom pods and puree with a stick blender, or in a food processor. Set aside or chill/freeze for later use.
For curry, use a deep frying pan or wok. Heat oil, then add all fresh ingredients except coriander and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add the gravy for desired consistency (recipe will give a nice amount of gravy, or use less and save some for later). Continue to stir while cooking until meat is cooked through. Taste for seasoning and serve immediately with fresh coriander, rice and nan bread.