Firstly, I can’t take credit for this recipe – it was sent to me by one of my friends at work, who constantly makes me jealous by bringing this dish into work for her lunch!

I finally got round to making it last weekend and I’m so glad I did – it’s a stunner of a recipe, and really quick and easy to make.

The first thing you need to do is chop up an onion and at least one green chilli (depending on how spicy you like your food! Next time I think I’ll add at least one more chilli and all the seeds from both). Add a teaspoon of garlic paste, and cook in some vegetable oil until the onions are soft.

I must admit I hadn’t previously been a convert to garlic paste, but the intensity of the flavour actually made a huge difference compared to using chopped garlic. It also saved me a job which I usually find boring, so that was welcome!

Once the onions had softened, I added three tablespoons of curry powder and some cumin, coriander powder, turmeric, and chilli powder. Once the spices had combined with the onion mixture, I added a smallish box of coconut creme (not the healthiest choice, I know, but this recipe makes 5-6 portions and the box was small!) and let it all bubble away for a few minutes.

As the coconut creme, onion, and spice mixture was simmering, I boiled the kettle (you need to fill the kettle right up) and then added the water into the pot. One mistake I made was to use a normal size saucepan. This recipe requires as big a pot as you can find!

Once the boiling water is in, add four chopped up chicken breasts. The mixture can then simmer away gently until the chicken has cooked through. At that point, add a large cup of basmati rice and stir everything together. If you can, grab a handful of fresh coriander and chuck it in. I didn’t have any to hand at the weekend and so left it out, but I think the fresh coriander does actually add a new dimension to the dish. Next time I’ll definitely add it in.

Add two chopped up big tomatoes and crumble two chicken stock cubes into the mixture, along with a teaspoon of garlic powder and a spoon of butter. I used margarine here as I didn’t have any actual butter, and I didn’t really think it mattered a great deal.

I then added some chilli powder. I was meant to add one and a half teaspoons but the lid fell off so quite a lot more ended up in there than intended! It didn’t matter though; we like our food with a kick to it!

To cut through the spice, I squeezed the juice of half a lemon into the mixture along with some pepper. I didn’t add salt as I’d already added salt by adding the chicken stock cubes.

It’s then time to sit back and relax while the mixture bubbles away in the process of becoming a beautiful dish. You only need to allow it all to cook until the rice is soft as the chicken is already cooked through and nice and tender.

Once the rice is soft, add some more fresh coriander if you can and then serve.

The result is a fragrant, unusual curry that is both filling and feel-good. I’d recommend this recipe to anyone who loves curries but is bored of the same old dishes.