Nadiya Hussain’s saag aloo chicken jalfrezi recipe
Just the thing for a busy weeknight – and far tastier than a takeaway – Nadiya Hussain’s saag aloo chicken jalfrezi is brilliantly easy to put together, makes a star of store cupboard ingredients and uses a few clever shortcuts along the way.
Nadiya describes the dish as ‘the Bengali stir-fry you never knew you needed’, and we can see exactly what she means. Once the (minimal) prep work has been done – garlic sliced, onions quartered – all that’s left is to combine the ingredients in a hot frying pan or wok.
Using leftover chicken and tinned potatoes helps keep the cooking time to a minimum, while Nadiya's idea for using cream of tomato soup as the base for the sauce is nothing short of genius – it adds just the right amount of richness to the dish, without overpowering the flavour and aroma of the spices.
The curry features in her latest book, Nadiya’s Simple Spices, a tried-and-tested collection of uncomplicated yet hugely flavourful family-friendly recipes that have been created with busy home cooks in mind. If you fancy adding a little spice to your everyday meals the easy, uncomplicated way, this is a great place to start.
Things to note:
This recipe calls for art masala (eight-spice masala mix), which you can make at home by grinding together: 14g cardamon pods, 1.5g bay leaves, 16g fennel seeds, 50g cumin seeds, 19g ground cinnamon, 50g ground turmeric, 22g chilli powder and 110g curry powder. Store the spice mix leftover from this recipe in an airtight container, ready to add flavour to other dishes.
You can use the equivalent amount of boiled potatoes instead of canned potatoes if you prefer (or happen to have leftover cooked potatoes).
For US ingredients and measurements, use the drop-down menu and select ‘Cups’.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp oil, for frying
- 3 dried red chillies
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 400 g can cream of tomato soup
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp brown sauce
- 4 tbsp art masala mix (eight-spice mix)
- 2 red onions, quartered
- 2 red peppers, quartered
- 560 g can cooked potatoes
- 200 g cooked chicken, shredded
- 80 g fresh baby spinach
- 20 g fresh coriander, to serve
- 2 spring onions, sliced, to serve
- 3 tbsp oil, for frying
- 3 dried red chillies
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 14.1 oz can cream of tomato soup
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp brown sauce
- 4 tbsp art masala mix (eight-spice mix)
- 2 red onions, quartered
- 2 red peppers, quartered
- 19.8 oz can cooked potatoes
- 7.1 oz cooked chicken, shredded
- 2.8 oz fresh baby spinach
- 0.7 oz fresh coriander, to serve
- 2 spring onions, sliced, to serve
- 3 tbsp oil, for frying
- 3 dried red chilies
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 14.1 oz can cream of tomato soup
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp brown sauce
- 4 tbsp art masala mix (eight-spice mix)
- 2 red onions, quartered
- 2 red bell peppers, quartered
- 19.8 oz can cooked potatoes
- 7.1 oz cooked chicken, shredded
- 2.8 oz fresh baby spinach
- 0.7 oz fresh cilantro, to serve
- 2 scallions, sliced, to serve
Details
- Cuisine: Indian
- Recipe Type: Curry
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 12 mins
- Cooking Time: 30 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- Set a large non-stick frying pan or wok over a high heat and drizzle a good amount of oil over the base. Throw in the dried red chillies and fry in the oil until they start to swell up.
- Lower the heat, add the garlic and cook, stirring often, until deep golden brown.
- Pour over the soup and add the salt, brown sauce and art masala mix (see note above). Cook until the liquid thickens and has reduced by half.
- Add the red onion, peppers, potatoes and chicken and stir well. Continue to cook over a really high heat until everything is coated in the sauce and is starting to catch on the base of the pan.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the spinach until just wilted.
- Serve the curry immediately with the coriander (cilantro) and sliced spring onions (scallions) sprinkled over the top.
Recipe adapted from Nadiya’s Simple Spices by Nadiya Hussain (Penguin Michael Joseph £26). Photography by Chris Terry.
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Nadiya Hussain’s salsa verde salmon recipe
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