The Main Event
Creamy chicken, lightened
All the comfort of a creamy chicken without the cream. Blended onions and light cream cheese do the work instead, and you would never know the difference.
For the chicken
- 1 kg chicken breast, cubed
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil, for frying
- salt, to taste
For the sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ onion, chopped
- 120 ml milk
- 5–6 tbsp light cream cheese
- 250 ml water
- 2–3 tbsp mozzarella, grated
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- Mix the chicken with the ginger garlic paste, cumin, paprika, oregano, black pepper and salt. Leave it to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat the olive oil in a pan and shallow fry the chicken until cooked through and lightly golden at the edges. Set it aside.
- In a separate pan, heat the olive oil and fry the chopped onion until soft and golden.
- Tip the onion into a blender with the milk and cream cheese. Blend until completely smooth. The onion gives the sauce its body, so blend it properly rather than leaving any texture behind.
- Pour the sauce into a pan, add the water, stir and heat it through.
- Add the cooked chicken back in, then stir in the mozzarella, tomato paste, cumin and salt.
- Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until the cheese has melted through and the sauce comes together. Taste and adjust the salt before serving.
A note from my kitchenThe trick is the blended onion. It thickens the sauce the way cream would, so you get that richness from something you were putting in the pan anyway.
