One Pot Chicken, Bacon & Parsnip Curry with Chick Peas & White Beans
One pot quick curry!
For me it’s usually a mid-week meal that I make because I want a one pot dish I can make when I want something warm and flavoursome, that’s a bit of spicy comfort in a bowl.
When I watch fabulous chefs pull together flavours from dried spices, pan frying them in a hot pan before adding coconut milk and other delights all to be transformed into a spicy meal, I sometimes feel I do a disservice to the humble curry!
My one pot chicken curry has no spice grinding, I brought out my trusty curry powder, its hot and full of already ground flavours and, its always reliable.
Parsnips may not be the first choice for a curry, but the sweetness and consistency when cooked are perfect for this mid-week dish.
Don’t peel the parsnips, forget taking the skin off, why waste the effort when the skin has added goodness.
Just give the skin a scrub, a good dry with some kitchen paper before giving them a top and tale and dicing them into cubes ready for cooking.
Even though I’ve saved time by using curry powder doesn’t mean that I didn’t make it with love.
Spending time roasting the curry powder in the hot pan with the onions before adding the coconut milk, helps the oils in the curry spice come to the surface making sure that once the coconut and tomatoes are added, all those aromats infuse quickly, making it one of my favourite go to one pot meals.
Go on, give it a go and enjoy your sweet life!
Serve straight from the pot
What You Need
4 Chicken Legs – See Tip Box
1 Pack streaky bacon - Chopped into thin strips
1 Tin Chopped Tomatoes
1 Tin Coconut Milk
1 Tin Chick Peas – Drained
1 Large Onion – Peeled and Chopped into medium pieces
3 Large Parsnips – Washed, ends cut off and chopped into cubes around size of a thumb nail.
1 Tin Borlotti Beans – Drained – See Tip Box
2 Tbsp. Paprika
3 Tbsp Strong Curry Powder – See Tip Box
Salt & Pepper to taste
Vegetable oil for cooking
Don’t waste those brown tasty scrapings on the bottom
How It’s Done
Pour a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil into a heavy bottomed shallow pan, turn the heat to medium, add the slice bacon and let it cook until some of the strips start to become brown. Remove them from the pan and set aside until needed
Add a little more oil to the same pan and put in the chicken legs , skin side down.
Let the chicken legs cook until some of the skin has turned a golden brown – Be patient and let them sit skin side down without moving them at all – See Tip Box
Once the chicken skin has a little bit of colour, remove the chicken to a plate and set it aside
To the same pan and keeping the heat on medium, add the curry powder, the onions and cubed parsnips, stirring to coat the vegetables with the powder.
Keep stirring for around 2 minutes.
Add another couple of Tbsp. of vegetable oil if the mix gets too dry.
Add the coconut milk, tinned tomatoes, chick peas, borlotti beans, paprika and give a good mix.
Turn the heat down to low
Give it a good mix making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot, getting all those full of flavour brown bits
Add the bacon back to the pan, give it a mix and then put the chicken back into the pot, sitting the pieces on top of the bean mixture, skin side up this time
Place the lid on the pot and let it simmer, on the low heat, for around 30-45 minutes, until the chicken has cooked and piping hot all the way through. – Stir the bean mixture on a regular interval – See Tip Box
Once cooked, Serve straight from the pot
Full of quick flavour
Tip Box
Chicken Legs – 1) I made this dish for four people using four chicken legs. But I’m a big fan of chicken thighs so often use these. Having chicken on the bone means the chicken stays moist during cooking as well as keeping all that chicken flavour.
2) Cooking – Don’t rush with browning the chicken skin, if moved around too soon, the skin will stick to the pan.
Borlotti Beans – I used these white beans because I like their texture, it’s the mouth feel I love.
Curry Powder – 1) Using a good flavoured curry powder is a great way to speed up making this dish.
2) Whichever curry powder you love the best is the one to use.
3) Roasting the curry powder along with some of the ingredients, heats the powder up , releasing the oils and helping them infuse the flavour more quickly.
