Mumrez Kahn opened the Karachi restaurant in Bradford in the 1960’s and, despite being featured as one of Rick Stein’s “Food Heroes”, it hasn’t changed very much since. I’ve been going there on and off since the early 80’s and so was delighted that the recipe was made public on Rick Stein’s TV programme and then in his book, “Food Heroes”.
Mumrez Kahn’s Chicken & Spinach Karahi
A curry recipe from one of our favourite Bradford restaurants.
Ingredients
250g Ghee or Oil
550g Onions, roughly chopped
400g Tin chopped tomatoes
50g Ginger, chopped
65g Garlic, chopped
900g Chicken breast, diced
1 tbs Salt
1 tbs Turmeric
1 tbs Chilli Powder
1 tbs Cumin
1 tbs Paprika
1 tbs Coriander
350g Fresh spinach leaves
4 fresh green chillies
3 tbs fresh coriander, chopped
1/2 tbs Garam Masala
Method
Heat the ghee in a heavy based pan and fry the onions for 20 minutes or so until they’re soft and slightly browned. Browning them will add flavour and sweeten the onions.
Add the tomatoes, ginger and garlic to a blender along with around 100ml of water and blend to a smooth consistency.
Remove the onions from the pan with a slotted spoon and reserve the ghee in the pan. Add the onions to the blender with the sauce and blend again.
Fry the chicken in the ghee to seal it and slightly colour it, then add the dry spices and continue to fry for a couple of minutes. Stir in the sauce and simmer until the chicken is cooked through.
Wilt the spinach by putting in a pan with a small amount of boiling water for a couple of minutes, drain and then bland it into a smooth paste, reserve some of the leaves if you would like to add to the final dish.
Clean the blender and blend the chillies with some water.
Add the spinach to the sauce in the pan and stir, along with the chopped coriander and the garam masala.
Test the dish for heat and if you prefer more, add some of the blended chilli liquor or leave for your guests to add themselves.
