How to make Colm O'Gorman's delicious Hariyali Chicken

"The list of ingredients might look a little long, but do not be intimidated, most are readily available in local supermarkets and this curry is quite easy and quick to prepare."

"Hariyali translates literally as ‘greenery’, which is apt given the volume and variety of green herbs and vegetables in this sumptuous dish."

This vibrant and delicious curry has its origins in the state of Punjab in Northern Indian. 

Hariyali translates literally as ‘greenery’, which is apt given the volume and variety of green herbs and vegetables in this sumptuous dish. 

As you will see, the recipe uses lots and lots of fresh coriander, as well as fresh mint, green chillies, and spinach leaves.

The list of ingredients below might look a little long, but do not be intimidated, most are readily available in local supermarkets and this curry is quite easy and quick to prepare. 

The one ingredient you may not be familiar with is dried fenugreek leaves, or Methi as it is known in Indian cuisine. 

It is a lovely herb, slightly bitter, and tastes a little like an earthy celery. You can find it in Asian supermarkets, or in health food shops. 

If you do not have any, or cannot get hold of some, do not stress about it, you can leave it out and the dish will still taste great. 

Just double up on the turmeric to add a little more earthy depth to the dish and it will be fine.

Unusually for an Indian curry, this recipe does not use many dried or roasted spices, just turmeric, garam masala and some fennel seeds. 

This gives it a fabulously fresh flavour. Curries that use lots of roasted spices generally benefit from having lots of time for the depth and complexity of flavours to develop; hence why they often taste even better the day after they are cooked. 

This curry is the opposite and is at its best when freshly cooked.

Many recipes for Hariyali chicken use whipped yoghurt or cream, but I prefer to use coconut milk in this dish. 

While it is not fully authentic, it adds some sweetness as well as creaminess to the curry which is delicious.

Hariyali Chicken

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

Despite the long list of ingredients, this curry is quite easy and quick to prepare.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 35 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• Hariyali Chicken

• 90g of fresh coriander

• 20g fresh mint leaves

• 3 green chillies

• 4 cloves of garlic

• 4cm fresh ginger root

• Small handful cashew nuts

• ½ tsp ground turmeric

• 1 tsp flaky sea salt

• Juice of half a lemon

• 120 ml cold water

• 2 tbsp coconut or rapeseed oil

• 1 tsp fennel seed

• 1 medium onion

• 500g chicken breast

• 1 tsp dried fenugreek

• ½ tsp garam masala

• 1 tsp ground black pepper

• 100g fresh spinach leaves

• ½ tin coconut milk

• Onion and Coconut Relish

• 1 medium onion

• 30g desiccated coconut

• Juice of half a lemon

• 1 red chilli

• Handful of fresh coriander

• ½ tsp salt

• ½ tsp caster sugar

•  

Method

1. Wash the coriander and discard any of the thicker stalks, retaining just the fine stalks and leaves, you want 60g in total, so you will likely need about 90g of fresh coriander to begin. Wash the mint and remove the leaves and discard the stalks. Wash and roughly chop the chillis. Peel and ginger and garlic and roughly chop those as well.

2. Pop the coriander, mint, chopped chillies, ginger and garlic into a food processor or blender. Add the cashew nuts, turmeric, salt, lemon juice, and the water. Blitz to a smooth puree and set aside.

3. Cut the chicken breasts into 3cm or so sized pieces. Peel and chop the onion. Heat the coconut oil in a deep sauté pan over a high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add the fennel seed. Fry for just a minute and add the chopped onion. Cook the onion until it softens and begins to brown slightly. Add the diced chicken and cook for five minutes, stirring regularly, until it is seared all over.

4. When the chicken has seared, add the pureed coriander and mint mixture and stir the pan to coat the chicken. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover the pan, and cook for ten minutes.

5. You have time to prepare the relish now before you finish the curry. make the relish. Peel and very thinly slice the onion. Wash and finely chop the red chilli. Wash and chop the coriander. Pop all three into a bowl along with the desiccated coconut, lemon juice, sugar and the salt. Stir to combine well and set aside until you are ready to eat.

6. Finally, finish the curry. Wash the spinach leaves, pop them into a pan or bowl and pour over some boiling water. Stir and blanch the spinach for two to three minutes. You do not need to put them over any heat, the boiling water is enough to blanch the spinach in just a few minutes. Drain the spinach into a colander and refresh it under cold running water. This will stop it from over cooking and help retain its vibrant green colour. Drain off any excess water and blitz the blanched spinach in a blender or food processor. You can use the same one that you used to blitz the herbs to save on washing up!Finally, add the pureed spinach, half a tin of coconut milk, the dried fenugreek and the garam masala t the curry, along with a generous grind of black pepper. Stir to combine everything thoroughly and simmer for just five more minutes.

7. Serve right away, with some plain boiled basmati rinse, some crunchy poppadum, and a fresh onion relish on the side.