A near zero-fat dish similar to a chicken korma with signature flavours of fresh fennel and mushrooms, amongst others. Not traditional Indian cooking at all, but instead a considered response for when you need a low-fat option that delivers a comparable creaminess.
Curry on up the Khyber
As many of us know, Indian cooking doesn't use the word "curry" (karahi) except in very specific contexts to describe dishes. The popular use of the term is a byproduct of British colonialism, a kind of shorthand for dishes that come in a sauce or "gravy" as early British observers in India stated when describing many varied dishes. Too bad: someone should have told those geeky kids who built the technology that defines how people find things online. So, yes, I am using the term "curry" whorishly in the hope that more people may find this recipe.
There is little authentically Indian about this dish. Like other dishes that have appeared here of late, its prime agendas are to be low-fat and tasty. I happily assert it's both. I've had to experiment and adapt dishes learned in my youth to pull it off. You can have "authentic" and you can have "low-fat", but you can't always have both. And, before the foodies get arsey with me, let's remember that India's love of oil is actually a celebration of those lucky enough to have it on a subcontinent where so many people went without—still go without—and nutrition is not the "given" easily assumed in many Western cultures.
If you like korma-style dishes, you'll probably love this one. It's subtly spiced and, above all else, creamy. That's down to a zero-fat dairy product most commonly used in Mitteleuropa. It's technically a zero-fat cheese. Call it "fusion", babe; I don't care, it's delicious. Yes, you can use low-fat yoghurt if you wish. But that's largely rubbish by comparison; becomes watery. I'm doing it here with chicken, but it's easily turned pescatarian or veggie (see below).
This low-fat chicken curry with fennel and mushroom doesn't used a spice paste but rather only whole and dried spices. While the style of the dish is similar to korma, it is notably spicier, down to the hot bird's eye chillies. If you prefer a milder dish, simply reduce the number of chillies—or use milder red chillies. The spices are not "hot" and won't need to be reduced.
These quantities are for two diners. But, you can cook it in larger quantities and store in the fridge or freezer. However, because of the quark, it is best heated from fully defrosted in a microwave. Remember to add a little lemon juice and/or water to the defrosted dish before reheating to prevent it from being too "dry".
This dish comes in at about 3g of fat per serving. Because the sauce is fairly thick, I think it works better with naan breads or chapatis (if you don't mind a few extra grams of fat) rather than rice. But, it's up to you.
I'm opting it to cook it in a medium non-stick wok (I don't have a non-stick kadai) because it's a lot easier when cooking with such little oil. But, it's not essential: simply be more attentive to prevent sticking.
Shopping list
for low-fat chicken curry with fennel and mushroom
For the spices...
2 tspns of garam masala
1 tspn turmeric
4 whole black peppercorns
1 tspn of freshly ground black pepper
5 or 6 green cardamoms; gently crushed
3 dried bay leaves
5 whole cloves
3 tspns Madras curry powder
For the dish...
2 skinless chicken breasts, cut into fairly large pieces
½ tbspn peanut oil (or sunflower oil)
1 large red onion, sliced vertically
1 green bell pepper (or yellow pepper); sliced
4 hot ("bird's eye") red chillies, chopped
3 tspns garlic & ginger paste
1 fresh fennel, cut into irregular "cubes"
Approx. 300g closed cup mushrooms; cut in half (or thick slices)
4 tbspns dry roasted peanuts, coarsely ground
A generous clutch of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
Approx. 90g fat-free quark cheese (or fat-free yoghurt)
2 fresh lemons
for the condiments and side dishes
Naan breads (or rice if preferred)
a sambal of chopped fresh tomatoes and spring onions dressed with vinegar and flaked dried chillies
A simple chutney, such as mango chutney
Cooking Method
for low-fat chicken curry with fennel and mushroom
Place the sliced onions and green bell pepper in a microwave-proof dish. Sprinkle over the juice of half a lemon, dress with a little freshly ground black pepper and stir. Cover and microwave at 900W, stirring halfway through. Repeat this process with the chopped fresh fennel in its own dish, sprinkled with the rest of the lemon juice, but with 3mins total cooking time. You can do this up to 48 hours before and store these ingredients, covered, in the fridge
In a kadai (karahi) —alternatively use a wok rather than a pot since a lid is not required but the curved shape is useful when cooking with very little oil—heat the oil on a low-to-medium heat, adding the ginger and garlic paste while the oil is still heating. As soon as the paste begins to sizzle, throw the whole black peppercorns, cloves, bay leaves, chopped bird's eye chillies and cardamoms into the pan and stir. Allow the spices to cook for a minute or so to release their aromas
Add the onions and peppers and stir. They should contain sufficient liquid to not stick, but if they do, add a few drops of water. Cook for a few minutes until the onions are notably softened. Add the chicken pieces and flip intermittently sealing on all facets. As they're cooking, sprinkle over 1 tspn of the garam masala, the Madras curry powder and the turmeric. Keep stirring until the chicken is barely sealed on all sides
Add the fennel and half of the chopped coriander. Squeeze the juice of the second lemon over the mixture. Stir near constantly so that they lemon juice covers all the ingredients. Cook until the onions and fennel appear to be very slightly caramelising. If ingredients start sticking, add little boiling water—no more than 30ml at a time—until the fennel, though still slightly crisp, appears "golden"
Add the mushrooms and fold in without breaking them up. Stir almost constantly. Wait until the mushrooms start to soften but are not fully cooked i.e. about 4 to 6min at this low heat
Add the ground peanuts and throughly stir in, allowing them to cook and blend with the other ingredients for approx. 3mins
Pour approx. 400ml of boiling water into the pan (NB, the amount of water will depend on the size and depth of you pan). Ingredients should be about three-quarters covered. Increase the heat to whatever point the liquid achieves a healthy simmer (not a vigorous boil). Cook uncovered for about 15 to 20mins, stirring regularly. If the liquid cooks off too quickly, add a little more boiling water (30 to 40ml at a time) and stir in until the chicken and and other ingredients are fully cooked
The sauce should not be too watery. If your ingredients are nearing optimal cooking but there is still too much liquid in the pan, slightly increase the heat to speed up the liquid cooking off. Stir near constantly to prevent sticking. About 5mins before the dish is ready, sprinkle the second tspn of garam masala over the dish and stir in
Remove from the heat completely. Allow to settle for 2 to 3mins. Then spoon the quark into the dish and gently fold in. Allow the heat of the pan and dish to fully melt the quark into the sauce for a minute of so
Plate, garnish with the remainder of the chopped coriander and take to table with condiments and side dishes of choice.
Alternatives
This dish is effortlessly turned veggie—quark is a vegetarian product—either by simply proportionally increasing the vegetable ingredients or by using Quorn blocks or tofu. In the case of the former, simply skip the step of sealing the chicken detailed above. In the case of the later, pretty much treat as you would the chicken cooking it for only a few mins before introducing the fennel and coriander.
This dish is great as a pescatarian dish with prawns, king prawns, large shrimp or langoustine. Add as pre-cooked and shelled during the last five mins of cooking either as au naturel, or flash fry in lemon juice with a little garam masala and chopped coriander in a small frying pan and put to one side before adding towards the end of the cooking.
Vegans present a quandary: the signature creaminess of this dish is the result of a dairy product and, God knows, it took enough experimenting to find the riqht one. Nonetheless, it's delicious even before you add the quark in the final stage. Sure, it is effectively a different dish, but delicious nonetheless.
Pairings
This one is definitely going to have to go over to my brother-in-law Karel as an "assignment"—fennel, like witloof, is deeply embedded as a culinary cultural palate reference point for him. He'll know what to do with that definitive note in this dish.
I have tried it with beer—which we all know works well with many Indian dishes—and have defaulted to the chenin blanc grape, my go-to recommendation for many seafood or poultry Indian dishes. It's been perfectly delightful with respectable "in-house" chenin blancs branded by two national UK supermarket chains; not cooked it often enough yet to up the game...
But let's leave it to those who know: Karel will tell us.
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