Chicken Tikka Masala

This was absolutely delicious and thoroughly enjoyed by the whole family. I love using jar pastes, but this just blows all those others out of the water. While the quality of the pastes is very very good, making it yourself from scratch is just an amazing flavour. It's like a taste party in your mouth.

1 green chilli deseeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled
large knob of fresh ginger, peeled
1 heaped teaspoon garam masala
1 tablespoon tomato paste
stems of coriander which you are going to use as garnish
1 small onion
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
generous pinch of ground coriander
1 teaspoon tumeric

500g chicken breast (thigh fillets would be better and I'll use them next time)

1 red capsicum, chopped
1 green capsicum, chopped
2 large handful snow peas
2 carrots, julienned
1 can evaporated milk (instead of using coconut milk which is high in saturated fats)

Chopped coriander for garnish
natural yoghurt (*see note)

Moosh up the first lot of ingredients in a food processor. I could have done them in the mortar and pestle, but this was much much faster. Cover the chopped chicken with the paste and leave in the fridge for several hours or overnight to enhance flavour.

Heat wok, cook chicken on high heat, it actually chars a bit which adds to the flavour. Let it sit for a few minutes before you even stir. When you stir add the carrots and capsicum in a layer to cook above the chicken. Turn the heat down at this stage and cook chicken for another few minutes depending on size of chunks of chicken. Add snow peas to soften, not too early because you don't want them mushy. You can add some water to deglaze the wok and add extra steam for vegies to cook. Add can of evap milk, heat through, but do not let it boil.

Serve on bed of basmati rice, with chopped coriander and generous dollop of natural yoghurt. *European yoghurt has a nicer consistency.

Enjoy.