Biking and…butter chicken?

Training

This morning I headed to the pool for another 'quick' 1km swim, which I missed out on on Tuesday. It's funny how 'short' a 1km swim feels now in light of my longer swims.  One reason I decided to just have a short swim was that Mr BBB and I had after-work plans that also involved exercise….

A mountain bike ride after work with friends!

We parked the car at the bottom of Mr Stromlo, and slowly meandered our way up the mountain using the fantastic (although challenging!) single track.

Although the views from the top certainly made the climb worthwhile!

   

Can you believe this is only 5 minutes from our house!? Canberra really is an adventure playground!!

The sun was shining, and Canberra gave us perfect evening weather to work our way through the stunning forest trails.

However, it has been a very long time since my last mountain bike ride, so it took a while for me to get the ‘feel’ of it.

Oh and a few scratches :(

 

(Rock + knee = that’s gonna hurt tomorrow)

After a few hours on the mountain, we and made it back to the car just as the sun was starting to disappear.

It was then time to head home for dinner and get cooking!!!

Dinner

After our weekend of indulgence, I am still craving vegetables like they are going out of fashion. However, when I selected a Mystery Box ingredient...

I was a little stumped as to how to use yoghurt and still satisfy my vegetable craving. I was tempted to put the ingredient to one side to use another evening, but then I had a light-bulb moment. Indian food!  And in particular, a Butter Chicken – veggie-fied of course.

Did you know? People have been making and eating yogurt for at least 5,400 years - with the oldest writings attributable to Pliny the Elder who remarked that certain nomadic tribes knew "how to thicken the milk into a substance with an agreeable acidity". Yoghurt is nutrient-rich and a great source of protein, calcium, riboflavin and vitamins B6 and B12. 

I made sure to take the yoghurt out of the fridge before I started cooking so that it could reach room temperature.**

 

I cooked chicken thigh fillets with a mixture of spices, onion, tomatoes, passata and green beans.

 

Before stirring through the yoghurt at the end.

Topped with a sprinkle of coriander and flaked almonds.

And served with a side of brown rice and steamed broccoli.

This dish was fragrant and rich, without being heavy. I loved the tart creaminess of the yoghurt, and the crunch of the almonds. A wonderful healthy take on an old favourite.

Biking + butter chicken = a winning combination.

 

BBB's Butter Chicken (GF) – serves 6

• 800g chicken thigh fillets, quartered
• 20g butter
• 2 onions, peeled and cut into wedges
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2tsp ground paprika
• 2tsp ground cumin
• 2tsp garam masala
• 400ml tomato passata
• 250ml chicken stock
• 300g green beans, trimmed
• 4 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
• 120ml natural yoghurt
• 2tsp cornflour
• Coriander and flaked almonds to serve

1. Heat a little olive oil in a large pan over high heat. Brown chicken in batches and transfer to a plate.
2. Add butter to pan, and sauté onion and garlic for a few minutes until soft. Add spices and cook, stirring, for 30 second or until fragrant.
3. Return the chicken to the pan and toss to coat with spices.
4. Add passata, stock, beans and tomato. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Combine the yoghurt and cornflour in a small bowl. Add a few teaspoons of the curry sauce to the yoghurt to bring it up to temperature.
6. Remove curry from heat, then gently fold in warmed yoghurt.
7. Transfer to a serving dish, and top with fresh coriander leaves and flaked almonds.

**If you have ever tried to add yoghurt to a hot curry, you may have ended up with a curdled mess. However, there are a couple simple steps that I normally follow to prevent yoghurt from curdling.

1. Use yoghurt (preferably full fat) that has reached room temperature, and not straight out of the fridge.
2. Stabilise the yogurt by whisking in 1 to 2 teaspoons of starch before cooking. I like to use cornflour or chickpea flour.
3. When you are ready to add the yoghurt, take the curry off the heat, and add a little of the curry sauce to the yoghurt to raise its temperature gradually.
4. After the yogurt temperature has risen sufficiently, gently fold in the yogurt to the curry by stirring in one direction until the yogurt is well combined.

What about you? How do you like to cook with yoghurt? I really love using it in place of sour cream for topping nachos, chilli etc.

Happy Baking :)