Chicken & Vegetable Coconut Curry

This is my entry for the Cook Off/Blog Off competition run by Gourmet Garden. They sent me some of their products to use in my recipes. I was quite excited to get my pack of herbs & spices - most of my herbs in my garden have died in the frosts :(

I love a tasty curry, so decided that's would I would make for my entry, as it uses as many of the products as possible. You could add any veg that you like, I just happen to love mushrooms! I also had green beans to use up, so added those too. I think this recipe would freeze well, and it definitely tastes the next day after sitting in the fridge overnight - most curries do! This is quite mild, so add more chilli to taste.

1 onion, sliced
5 mushrooms, sliced
100g trimmed green beans
1 tablespoon olive oil
35g butter
4 chicken breasts
400g tin tomatoes, drained of juice
400g tin coconut milk
10 crushed cardamom pods
5 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon Gourmet Garden ready ginger
1 teaspoon Gourmet Garden ready garlic
1 teaspoon (or more if you like it spicier) of Gourmet Garden ready chilli
1 teaspoon Gourmet Garden ready coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons garam masala


Heat the oil & butter in a large frying pan or wok to a medium heat. Add cardamom pods, cloves and cinnamon stick and stir fry for 1 minute. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli, coriander paste, coriander spices & cumin spices and stir for 2 minutes to release the flavours & aroma. Add the chopped chicken & stir through. Add the tomatoes & coconut milk, and allow to come to a simmer. Cover and allow to simmer and reduce slightly for 30 minutes. 2 minutes before serving, add the garam masala & stir through. Serve with rice & naan.