I was invited to take part in a Ocado Masterclass with a Michelin star chef; Simon Hulstone from The Elephant, Torquay. I have been getting better at cooking, but was thinking, upon seeing the recipe, that there was not a hope in hell of me managing to make the Curried chicken Kiev with squash sag aloo. Thankfully, with the help of Great British Chefs Elliot Collins and Ollie Lloyd I managed to make the dish. It looked amazing and it tasted sublime. Simon has made a killer recipe. Do try this at home.
Some tips that I picked up are: when cooking something try to cut the food in the same shape and size, if not, they will not all cook at the same time. Obvious but brilliant. If you want to become a good cook: practice, and when bashing the chicken (read below) but cling film over it. It will stop you having to wash more things because it is contaminated with raw meat.
Ocado have lots of brilliant recipes and are also doing live streaming masterclasses. These live stream masterclasses are the first of their kind. What makes them unique is that you can interact with the chef. Be sure to check them out. I am going to try their Pimm’s Jelly next.
Curried chicken kiev with squash sag aloo
by Simon Hulstone
chicken kiev
• 4 chicken breasts, skinless
• 400g of panko breadcrumbs
• 4 eggs
• 100ml of milk
• 200g of flour
• salt
curry sauce
• 25g of butter
• 1 shallot, sliced thinly
• 1 garlic clove, sliced thinly
• 20g of flour
• 100ml of chicken stock
• 75ml of coconut milk
• 1.5 tbsp of curry powder
• salt
• 100g of butter, softened
squash sag aloo
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 0.25 tsp of coriander seeds
• 0.25 tsp of cumin seeds
• 0.25 tsp of chilli powder
• 0.25 tsp of ground coriander
• 1 tsp of fenugreek seeds
• 350g of baby spinach, washed
• 300g of potato,
peeled and diced into 5mm cubes
• 300g of butternut squash,
peeled and diced into 5mm cubes
• salt
to plate
1 handful of coriander
method (serves 4)
1. Start by removing the butter from fridge to soften. Next, thinly slice the shallots and garlic and
prepare your 100ml of chicken stock
2. In a saucepan over a medium heat, melt the 25g butter and add the shallots and garlic. Cook
until soft and slightly golden. Add the 1/4 teaspoon of curry powder & cook for 30 seconds, then
add the 20g flour and cook for 30 seconds more. At this stage, add the chicken stock, making sure
to stir constantly. Cook while stirring for 1 minute and this will thicken very quickly
3. Add the coconut milk and bring to the boil. Once the mixture thickens again, remove from the
heat and transfer to a blender. Slowly take the blender up to full speed and blend until smooth.
Add salt to taste
4. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve and set aside to cool
5. Now prepare your mixture for the sag aloo – slice the onions and garlic. Peel your potatoes and
butternut squash and dice them into 5mm cubes – place them in separate bowls, covering the
potatoes in water. Set aside while you prepare the chicken Kiev
6. By now your curry mixture will have cooled sufficiently – combine with the softened 100g of
butter and whisk until fully mixed – it should turn slightly more pale in colour
7. On a large piece of cling film, put the butter mixture down the middle creating a thin sausage
with gaps at both ends of the cling film. Fold the cling film over the mix and roll to form a neat 2cm
diameter cylinder of butter. Tie off the ends of the cling film and set in the freezer until required
8. Now return to your sag aloo. Boil a kettle and place 2 small pans of boiling water over a high
heat. As soon as the water is boiling, add a large pinch of salt to each. Strain the water off the po-
tatoes and add to one pot, add the butternut squash to the other. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until
the squash and potatoes are just tender. Strain and place on a tray to cool
9. Meanwhile, as the squash and potatoes are cooking, place a large frying pan over a medium
heat. Once hot, add the oil, onions and garlic (you sliced earlier). Cook until tender or slightly
coloured
Ollie Lloyd and Catherine Balavage
10. Grind the fenugreek in a mortar and pestle and mix with the other spices. Add the spices (co-
riander – seeds and ground, fenugreek, chilli powder, cumin seeds) to the pan and cook for at least
a minute. Remove from the heat and set aside
11. Prepare a bowl of ice water and set aside. Blanch the washed spinach in the boiling water for
no more than 10 seconds, strain and then plunge into your ice water. Discard the boiling water.
Once the spinach has chilled, drain the spinach and squeeze any excess water out with a cloth
12. Place the pan containing the onions and spices back onto the stove over a medium heat. Once
the onions begin to fry again, add the potato, squash and spinach
13. Mix all the ingredients; you want the edges of the potato and squash to break up a little bit, but
not so they are mashed. Add salt to taste and place on the side until required
14. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4, and set your deep fryer or get your pan with oil to
180°C (using a sugar thermometer to check the temperature)
15. Lay a chicken breast down on a chopping board. Use the palm of your hand to hold the breast
in place and slide a knife through the side of the breast; so it opens like a book but doesn’t create
2 separate pieces. Place each chicken breast in between two sheets of cling film and tenderize
gently with a rolling pin
16. Remove the curry butter from the freezer and peel away from cling film. Slice the curry butter
cylinder into 2cm thick discs. Remove the top layer of cling film from the chicken breast placing a
each disk of sauce in the middle of each chicken breast. Then, fold the outer edges of the chicken
breast over, so that the curry sauce is enclosed. Repeat this process for each breast
17. Set up your dipping station with three bowls big enough to coat your Kievs in. In one bowl, add
a pinch of salt to the flour. In another, beat the eggs with the milk and a pinch of salt. Place the
breadcrumbs in the third bowl
18. Roll each chicken breast, one by one, in the flour, trying to maintain the ball-like shape. Roll into
the egg mix, making sure they’re covered. Shake any excess egg off and then roll in the bread-
crumbs. Dip again in the egg mix and then back into the breadcrumbs for a second coat
19. Shape the Kievs in your hands so that they are still round. Gently place into the deep fat fryer
until golden all over
20. Once golden, remove from the fryer and place on a greaseproof paper lined baking tray and
put in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Using a temperature probe, heat to 63°C, then turn
off the oven leaving the Kievs in to keep warm
21. Reheat your sag loo on the stove. Once hot, arrange the sag aloo in the middle of each plate
22. Sit the cooked Kiev on top and arrange the coriander neatly around the plate. Serve immediately