Indian Feast With Chicken Pasanda And Paneer Skewers With Brown Rice

Preheat the oven to 220°C/ 200°C (fan)/ gas 7, boil half a kettle and take a couple of knobs of butter out of the fridge to soften

Rinse your brown rice, add it to a pot with plenty of cold water and bring to the boil over a high heat

Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 20-25 min or until it's tender with a slight bite

Once cooked, drain, return it to the pot and keep covered until serving

Take your chicken out of the fridge, open the packet and let it air

Peel and finely slice your red onion[s]

Deseed your pepper[s] (scrape the seeds and pith out with a teaspoon) and cut into bite-sized pieces

Cut your paneer into bite-sized cubes

Soak your skewers in water (this prevents them from burning whilst cooking)

Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a drizzle of vegetable oil over a medium heat

Once hot, add 3/4 of the sliced onion (you'll use the rest later!) with a pinch of salt and cook for 6-7 min or until softened

Add the paneer cubes to a large bowl with the chopped pepper, half your ginger & garlic paste (save the rest for later!) and a grind of black pepper – this is your marinated paneer & pepper

Thread the marinated paneer & pepper onto the soaked skewers and transfer them to a tin foil-lined baking tray

Put the tray in the oven for 13-15 min or until the paneer is slightly charred – these are your paneer & pepper skewers

Chop your chicken breast portion[s] into bite-sized pieces

Once the onion has softened, add the chopped chicken, your curry powder and the remaining ginger & garlic paste and cook for 2 min further or until fragrant

Add your chicken stock mix with half your ground almonds (you'll use the rest later!), 250ml [325ml] [450ml] boiled water and a pinch of sugar and cook for 12-15 min further or until the chicken is cooked through (no pink meat!)

Once the chicken is cooked through, add your cultured coconut – this is your creamy chicken pasanda

Meanwhile, combine the remaining ground almonds and 1 tsp [1 1/2 tsp] [2 tsp] sugar in a bowl with the softened butter and a pinch of salt – this is your almond butter mix

Spread the almond butter mix equally over your garlic & coriander naan[s], then transfer them to a baking tray

Put the tray in the oven for 7-8 min or until golden – these are your almond naan[s]

Add the remaining sliced onion to a small bowl with half your rice vinegar and a pinch of sugar – this is your quick-pickled onion

Chop your coriander finely, including the stalks

Strip your mint leaves from their stems and chop them roughly, discard the stems

Add the chopped herbs to a small bowl with a drizzle of vegetable oil and the remaining rice vinegar – this is your herb chutney