As a nation we love a good curry or Chinese, and rightly so, they can be delicious. Have you ever thought however that there could be a link between the nations obesity problem and it’s love for a takeaway?
If we take chicken tikka masala as an example, did you know that on average they contain 680 calories, and that’s before you add the 280 calories for a portion of pilau rice! Add a naan and a beer and you could easily hit 1500 calories. As well as this, In a study where 200 hundred chicken tikka masala’s were bought some contained illegal amounts of colourings, and on average contained 90% of your recommended daily intake of fat, and 120% of your recommended saturated fat intake.
In the same study 200 sweet and sour Chinese meals were bought. These contained on average 70% your recommended intake of fat, as well as 75% your daily recommended amount of sugar, that’s 16 tea spoons!
So what can you do when you have a desire for a dopiaza, a need for a naan, a wish for won tons, a craving for prawn crackers, a begging for a bhaji, pekish for a peking duck,
Well here is my recipe for a healthier curry, which is easy to make and in my opinion, tastier than a takeaway, as well as a lot cheaper.
Ingredients: serves 3 -4
1 x Large onion – Peeled and roughly chopped
1 x thumb size piece of ginger – finely chopped
1 x green chilli – de-seeded and finely chopped
1 x large bunch fresh coriander
1 x 400g of chopped tomatoes
½ Jar Rogan Josh Paste
400ml Chicken stock
1 handful Red Lentils
500g Lamb neck fillet, trimmed and cut into 2cm cubes.
2 Cups of Brown rice
Process:
1. Heat a pan and add the lamb. Fry for a few minutes until browned. Remove and put aside.
2. Add the onion, ginger, chilli and coriander stalks. Fry for 3-4 mins.
3. Put the lamb back in the pan with any juices. Put in the paste and make sure everything is coated.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and the chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Simmer for 1 hour
6. Add the lentils and the rest of the coriander, simmer for 25 mins, add water if it gets too thick. At the same time cook the rice in boiling water for 25 mins.
7. This should be ready to serve
8. Enjoy.
At ActivZone we care about our customers achieving their goals and our fully qualified instructors can offer nutritional advice as well as exercise plans. For more information contact us 01483 448666 or visit www.activzone.co.uk
