Low Fat Malay Korma

Just polished off the last of this curry I made last night. Got to be the best homemade curry I ever made. It is based on a BBC food recipe with some alterations to get the calories right down. It takes a bit of preperation but it is well worth it and there is plenty of left over spice mixture to make another curry.

For the Malaysian curry powder
10 cloves
10 black peppercorns
4 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
4 dried red chillies
4 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 star anise
1 tsp turmeric powder
For the Malay korma
1 tbsp vegetable oil.
340g turkey breast, cut into 5cm/2in cubes
2 onions, peeled, thinly sliced
1cm/½in root ginger, peeled, grated
1 clove garlic, peeled, crushed
1½ tbsp Malaysian curry powder (see above)
1 tsp chilli powder
salt
½ tsp saffron strands, soaked in 50ml/2fl oz warm water
40g cashew nuts, blended to a paste with 2 tbsp water
1 cinnamon stick
150ml low fat yoghurt
2 tomatoes, cut into quarters
To serve
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves

For the Malaysian curry powder, toast all of the spices, except the turmeric, in a dry frying pan, for 30 seconds-1 minute, or until they become fragrant. Set aside to cool slightly.

Grind the toasted spices and turmeric to a powder using a pestle and mortar.

For the Malay korma, heat one tablespoon of oil in a lidded wok, add the turkey, in batches if necessary, and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, or until browned all over. Add the onion, ginger, garlic, 1 ½ tablespoons of the Malaysian curry powder and all of the chilli powder for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant (NB: Do not let the mixture burn).

Stir in the saffron strands and soaking water, cashew nut paste, cinnamon stick, then pour in 250ml of water. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover the wok with the lid and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 mins. (You may need to add more water if the mixture begins to dry out.)

Stir in the yoghurt and tomatoes and return the mixture to a simmer for 1-2 minutes. Season well with salt.

Serves 4.

299 calories/serving.

I had it with 40g (dry weight) of brown basmati bringing it to around 450 calories.