Chicken and Cashew Biryani

This is a lightly spiced chicken and rice dish with golden caramelised onions and the added crunchy texture of cashew nuts. If you prefer, less expensive unsalted roasted peanuts may be used instead of the cashews.

Serves 1

½ x 400 g/14 oz/large can of fried onions in olive oil
1 small garlic clove, crushed, or 2.5 ml/½ tsp garlic purée (paste)
5 ml/1 tsp curry paste, preferably biryani
250 ml/8 fl oz/1 cup very hot (not boiling) chicken stock
175 g/6 oz diced chicken breast or 1 chicken breast, cut into thin strips
75 g/3 oz small florets of fresh or frozen cauliflower
50 g/2 oz/2 tbsp frozen peas
75 g/3 oz/1/3 cup easy-cook (converted) basmati rice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
50 g/2 oz/½ cup unsalted toasted cashew nuts
30 ml/2 tbsp fresh or frozen chopped coriander (cilantro)

1. Put the onions, garlic and curry paste in the ceramic cooking pot. Pour in a small amount of the stock and stir until the curry paste is blended, then stir in the rest of the stock.
2. Add the chicken, cauliflower, peas and rice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir, then cover with the lid and switch on the slow cooker to High. Cook for 1-1¼ hours or until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender and has absorbed most of the stock.
3. Stir the nuts and coriander into the rice, then spoon on to a warm plate and serve straight away while hot, topped with a spoonful of thick natural yoghurt and accompanied by popadoms.

Cook's tips
There are many different varieties of curry paste, which vary in flavour, heat and spiciness. These include:
Korma, Coconut and coriander, Mild
Tikka masala, Tomato and coconut, Medium
Balti, Tomato and coriander, Medium
Bhuna, Tomato and tamarind, Medium
Biryani, Coriander and cumin, Medium
Jalfrezi, Sweet pepper and coconut, Medium
Garam masala, Cinnamon and ginger, Hot
Madras, Cumin and chilli, Hot

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