Mama’s chicken with rice and peas recipe

Name: Mama’s chicken with rice and peas
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 4 chicken breasts, cut into 2cm cubes; 4 tsp ginger paste; 4 tsp garlic paste; 2 tsp ground cumin; 2 tsp garam masala; 4 tbsp curry powder; 2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped; 80g butter, softened; 900ml hot chicken stock; 2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes; 2 x 400g tin red kidney beans; 350g basmati rice, rinsed; 80g of fresh coconut, grated

Nigel Thompson's recipe for his mama's chicken – chicken breasts marinated with warming spices and cooked with onions and tomatoes – is a firm favourite with his family and friends. The recipe uses fresh coconut but if you can't find it, you can use desiccated coconut instead.

See method

Serves 4
15 mins to prepare and 50 mins to cook
983 calories / serving

Shop your ingredients

Tesco British Chicken Breast Mini Fillets 400G
4 chicken breasts, cut into 2cm cubes
£4.00
£10.00/kg
Tesco Ginger Paste 90G
4 tsp ginger paste
£1.80
£20.00/kg
Tesco Garlic Paste 90G
4 tsp garlic paste
£1.80
£20.00/kg
Tesco Ground Cumin 43G
2 tsp ground cumin
£1.00
£23.26/kg
Tesco Garam Masala Spice Blend 38G
2 tsp garam masala
£1.00
£26.32/kg
Tesco Mild Curry Powder 80G
4 tbsp curry powder
£1.25
£15.62/kg
Tesco Brown Onions Loose
Aldi Price Match
2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped
£0.11
£0.95/kg
Tesco British Unsalted Butter 250G
Aldi Price Match
80g butter, softened
£1.85
£7.40/kg
Tesco Finest Chicken Stock 450Ml
900ml hot chicken stock
£2.60
£5.78/litre
Grower's Harvest Chopped Tomatoes 400G
Aldi Price Match
2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
£0.43
£1.08/kg
Growers Harvest Red Kidney Beans In Water 400G
Aldi Price Match
2 x 400g tin red kidney beans
£0.35
£0.00/null
Tesco Basmati Rice 1Kg
Aldi Price Match
350g basmati rice, rinsed
£1.79
£1.79/kg
Tesco Coconut Each
80g of fresh coconut, grated
£1.25
£1.25/each

Method

In a large bowl, mix together the chicken, ginger paste, garlic paste, cumin, garam masala, curry powder and onion. Stir to combine well. Cover and leave to marinate for 30 mins to 2 hours.
In a large saucepan, heat the butter. When sizzling, add the marinated chicken. Cook for 5-8 mins over a high heat, the mixture will not brown, but the spices will cook through.
Stir in the tomatoes and hot stock. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and cook for 45-50 mins, uncovered, until the chicken has cooked through and tender. Stir occasionally to make sure the spices don’t stick on the base of the pan.
After the chicken has been cooking for 30 mins, prepare the rice. In a medium saucepan, add the rice and kidney beans and half the grated coconut. Top up with 450ml room temperature water. Bring to a gentle simmer, then cover and cook the rice for 10 mins until cooked through and the rice has taken on the colour of the kidney beans. Turn off the heat, leave the lid on and let the rice sit until the chicken has cooked.
After cooking, the chicken sauce should be a yogurt-like consistency, add a little more water if needed. Serve the rice with the chicken curry and sprinkle over the remaining grated coconut.