Chicken in Coconut-Tomato Sauce

Indian-leaning but distinctive — silkier than tomato curry, lighter than coconut curry alone — DASH-friendly, serves 1, 30 minutes

Ingredients

Fresh

• 1-2 boneless skinless chicken thighs (~150g), sliced into bite-sized pieces
• 1 red onion, diced
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed (or 1 tsp garlic and ginger paste)
• 1-2 tbsp pomegranate seeds (to finish)
• Squeeze of fresh lime (to finish)
• Optional: dollop of 0% fat Greek yoghurt

Storecupboard

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp curry powder
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp garam masala
• ½ tin chopped tomatoes
• ⅓ tin coconut milk
• ½ pouch microwave wholegrain rice (or quinoa mix)
• Black pepper

Method

1. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add diced red onion and soften for 5 minutes until translucent.
2. Add crushed garlic (or garlic and ginger paste) and mustard seeds. The seeds will pop and release flavour — let them go for about 30 seconds.
3. Stir in curry powder, turmeric, cumin, and garam masala. Cook another 30 seconds until fragrant. Don’t let the spices burn.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and coconut milk. Stir well to combine.
5. Add the sliced chicken thighs. Stir to coat in the sauce. Cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes until chicken is cooked through and sauce has thickened slightly.
6. While the chicken cooks, microwave the rice pouch.
7. Plate the rice, spoon chicken and sauce over. Squeeze fresh lime, scatter pomegranate seeds. Add yoghurt dollop if using.

Variations

• Vegetarian: swap chicken for ½ tin chickpeas plus a handful of frozen peas
• Seafood: prawns or white fish (add for the last 5 minutes only)
• Richer: use ½ tin coconut milk and reduce tomatoes proportionally
• Lighter: less coconut milk, splash of water or stock instead

DASH Notes

• Chicken thigh provides ~25g protein; thighs stay juicy in saucy dishes
• Mustard seed tadka is the technique that separates “I made curry” from “this tastes like proper curry”
• Coconut milk adds saturated fat — moderate it; ⅓ tin is the sweet spot
• Turmeric, cumin, coriander all have anti-inflammatory evidence
• No added salt needed — the spice base does the flavour work

Notes

• Mustard seeds are the key — toast them in oil at the start until they pop audibly
• Pomegranate + curry is underused — sweet-tart pop balances warm spices better than just coriander
• Save the rest of the coconut milk — keeps 4-5 days in fridge, or freeze in ice cube trays

Dinner — approximately 600 calories, ~32g protein, ~8g fibre