600 Calories Meal - Chicken Madras with Cauliflower Rice

4 days since I have started my New Year New Me diet plan, I have to say I really enjoy it. Developing recipes that are tasty, filling and healthier is very enjoyable. A lot of people have a misconception that curry sauce is very fatty and it's something they will avoid when they are on diet. So today I'm sharing a Chicken Madras recipe which does not need anythickening agents like yogurt or coconut cream or butter, but you can create a thick, wholesome sauce with vegetables. Why not? This recipe is good for 4 servings.

Ingredients:

Chicken Madras -

600g Chicken thigh (boneless, with skin) - 1060 kcal

1 can tinned chopped tomato - 88 kcal

1 can drained mixed bean - 303 kcal

1 medium onion - 44kcal

1 medium carrot (about 70g) - 30kcal

2 celery stalks - 20kcal

1 tbsp sunflower oil - 120 kcal

25g dry madras spices - 87kcal

water - just enough to reach half way of the chicken

Cauliflower Rice -

500g - finely chopped cauliflower - 125 kcal

1 medium onion - 44 kcal

3 stalks green onion - 15kcal

5g (2tsp) minced ginger - 5g

1 tbsp madras spices (optional) - 40kcal

1 tbsp sunflower oil - 120 kcal

Each serving is 525.3 kcal. If you have bigger appetite, you can double the serving of cauliflower rice and it will be 612.6 kcal (so just marginally more than 600)

Method:

To cook chicken madras:

1. Cut chicken thighs into thick strips (1"x2") and season with salt and pepper. Chop onion, carrot and celery.

2. In the fry pan, add sunflower oil, when the pan is hot, add chicken thighs, skin side down first. Brown the chicken thighs 1 mins on each side, then remove from the pan.

3. Add onion, carrot and the celery to the pan, turn the heat down to low and cook until the vegetables soften up.

4. Add madras spices and tomato paste to the vegetables, mix and cook for 1 min. It will release the flavor of the spices.

5. Then return the chicken back to the pan and add chopped tomato and water.

6. Now turn the heat up and bring everything to boil. Once the sauce is bubbling, reduce the heat to low, cover and gently simmer the chicken for 20 mins or until its cooked.

7. Once the chicken is cooked, remove them from the pan. Then use a hand blender to blend the vegetable and the sauce together. It will thicken the texture automatically. If it's too runny, just let it boil for a bit and reduce to the texture you like. Then add the chicken and bean back to the sauce, reheat for 5 mins. When everything is nice and hot, check your seasoning, then it's ready to serve.

While your chicken is cooking, you can make your cauliflower rice:

1. Use a food processor to finely chop the cauliflower (it should look like couscous). If no food processor, you can hand chop the cauliflower too.

2. Then chop onion, spring onion and mince ginger.

3. Add sunflower oil on frying pan, when the oil is hot enough (not sizzling hot), add onion, spring onion and ginger. Cook until soft. If you choose to add spices, this is the time to add it and cook for 1 min.

4. Then add cauliflower, stir well. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Once the cauliflower is soften, it's ready to serve with the chicken madras

I hope you enjoy this recipe! Eat well, eat healthy and lose weight!