Grabbing life by the kettlebells...: Chicken Massaman Curry...

I love curries. They're really simple to make, and although they take a while to cook if you want to maximise the flavour, you can just leave them to simmer away on their own. Make a big batch & have the leftovers for lunch, or freeze some for those days when you're caught without food in the house. They're also a great dish to make at the end of the week when you've little bits left of lots of different vegetables.

I've played around with the recipe for Massaman curry a little and this version tastes really great. Make the curry paste in large quantities and freeze in a silicone mould for use another time. If you're going to use a commercially produced paste, just check the ingredients list and choose the one with the most natural ingredients possible. Honestly though, it's really easy to make your own & it will always taste far superior.

For the paste:

4 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp Keen almond butter
zest & juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lemongrass stalk
2 garlic cloves
4 cloves
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp sweet paprika
2 tsp smoky paprika
2 tsp chilli flakes
salt & pepper

Add all the ingredients to a food processor & blend to form a thick paste. See I told you it was easy!!

For the curry:

1 large chicken fillet
1 tbsp Massaman paste
1 small sweet potato, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, diced
5 chestnut mushrooms, sliced
spinach
1 tbsp coconut cream (or 3 tbsp coconut milk)*
1 tsp Keen almond butter
150ml homemade chicken/vegetable stock
flaked almonds
fresh coriander

Start by marinading the chicken in the curry paste for at least 30 minutes.

Once marinaded, add to a hot wok and cook quickly.

Remove the chicken from the wok & add the sweet potato with a little coconut oil & 1 tsp of ground cinnamon. Cook for about 5 minutes until slightly softened.