I wanted to share a couple of recipes to celebrate Twelfth Night or as it’s commonly known here in Ireland, Little Women’s Christmas, with this Creamy Chicken Korma before we explore further Lunch box ideas. This recipe is from an old friend Sue Keen whose curry nights are legendary. I’ve tweaked it a little bit since I’ve been making it but it’s still delicious.It is also totally Gluten Free. Enjoy!

•  For the Sauce
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 1 large onion coarsely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoons grated ginger (you can buy this already grated in a jar!)
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 tablespoons garam masala
• ½ teaspoons ground turmeric
• ½ teaspoon of ground chilli powder (I use the Schwartz hot variety but use more or less depending     on your spice palate)
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 2 heaped tbsp ground almonds

For the chicken

• Allow 2 breasts per person
• 2 tablespoons yogurt
• Juice of half a lemon
• ½ teasp ground chilli powder

Method

Cut the chicken into pieces, and place in an oven proof dish. Add the yogurt, lemon juice and chilli powder and mix to ensure the all the chicken is covered. If you are using a large quantity of chicken just increase the quantity of yogurt. Leave to marinade for an hour or overnight. When the sauce is made, cook off the chicken at 180C/350F in a fan oven for about 25 minutes. The internal temperature should be 83C / 181F when it is cooked.

Fry off the onion in the oil for about a minute, then add the garlic and ginger and continue to cook over a medium heat until the onion is soft and glossy. I like a smooth sauce so I puree the onion mix at this point with a wand so it resembles baby food! If you forget and do it later the spices will stain your utensils. I learned this the hard way! Next add your spices and salt and cook them off continuously stirring in case they burn. Now add the coconut milk and bring up to the boil to dissolve any coconut that may have solidified in the can. Finally sprinkle on the ground almonds and stir well.

This quantity of sauce makes enough for 6 servings; I freeze the sauce I don’t need in bags so I don’t have to make sauce from scratch each time we decide to have curry.

When your chicken is cooked add it to the hot sauce and mix so that each piece is coated. I don’t normally use the juices from the chicken unless the sauce is quite thick. Sprinkle with chopped coriander/cilantro if you like. Serve with boiled rice. Enjoy!