Ingredients

The following ingredients have 5 Servings
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp chilli powder
  • 100ml/3½fl oz single cream
  • 4 boned, skinned chicken breasts (weighing approximately 560g/1 lb 4oz in total)
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 4 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 5cm/2in piece cinnamon stick
  • 6 cardamom pods, cracked open
  • 6 cloves
  • 140g/5oz onions, cut into fine half-rings
  • 2.5cm/1in piece fresh root ginger, peeled and cut into fine slices, then into fine strips
  • 1-3 hot green chillies, cut at a diagonal into fine strips
  • ½ tsp black or yellow mustard seeds
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • cooked basmati rice, to serve

Instruction

  • Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
  • Put the tomato purée in a bowl and mix with one tablespoon of water.
  • Add all the remaining sauce ingredients, in the listed order, mixing as you go.
  • Spread out the chicken breasts and season them generously on both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  • Put three tablespoons of the oil in a non-stick frying pan and place over a high heat.
  • When hot, add the cinnamon, cracked cardamom pods and cloves.
  • After ten seconds, add the chicken breasts in a single layer and brown them lightly on both sides.
  • Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a single layer in an ovenproof dish.
  • Add the onions, ginger, and green chillies to the same frying pan and fry them in the residual oil until they are golden-brown in colour.
  • Remove with a slotted spoon and spread evenly over the chicken breasts.
  • Add the remaining one tablespoon of oil to the frying pan. When hot, add the mustard seeds. As soon as they pop - this will be just a few seconds - add the garlic and stir.
  • As soon as the garlic starts to brown, pour in the sauce.
  • As soon as the sauce heats up and starts bubbling, pour it over and around the chicken without displacing the onion mixture.
  • Place the ovenproof dish, uncovered, in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
  • Serve immediately with basmati rice.