Denise says:

We are very lucky today to have so many non-dairy substitutes on the market, which enable us to add creamy textures to meat recipes. The creams, yoghurts and cheeses made of non-dairy substitutes surprisingly taste rather nice as well as having lower cholesterol and fat contents than their dairy equivalents.

This chicken dish is marinated with cumin, cinnamon and soya yoghurt. It has the spice but not the ‘heat’! It can be prepared in advance for the oven and then placed in the oven later on in the day. I like to serve it with basmati rice and a selection of green beans.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes plus 30 marinating
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Serves: 4 people

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts – skinned
1 teaspoon cinnamon
300ml soya yoghurt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onions – peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves – peeled and finely chopped
1 fresh green chilli – seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 red pepper – cored and de seeded – roughly chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper - to taste

Garnish
Sprigs of fresh coriander

To serve with
450g Basmati Rice
225g fine beans - trimmed
225g runner beans - trimmed

Method

1)Rub the chicken breasts with the cinnamon and salt and freshly ground black pepper. Put into a dish, pour over the yoghurt and marinate for 30 minutes.
2)Pre- heat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/ Gas mark 4.
3)Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan. Gently fry the onions, garlic and chilli for 2 minutes. Add the paprika and cumin seeds and cook for a further to 2 minutes. Transfer to a casserole dish.
4)Remove the chicken from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Add the chicken to the frying pan and brown on both sides.
5)Place the chicken, marinade, red pepper and lemon zest in the casserole.
6)Cover and cook for 45 minutes.
7)Remove the chicken from the casserole dish. Process the sauce in a food processor so that it takes on a beautiful creamy consistency. Check the seasoning. Reheat if necessary before serving.
8)Cook the basmati rice according to the packet instructions
9)Cook the beans so that they are al dente.

To serve the stylish way: Place a generous helping of rice on the base of the plate. Place a chicken breast on top with some sauce and sprigs of coriander. Serve the beans separately.
Tagged in: Chicken, Dinner Party