The Recipe Room

Coronation Chicken is normally eaten cold. However, it’s also delicious served warm with rice.  Here’s one that I often cook in the spring and the summer.  Sometimes I make extra quantity; eat some hot, then store some in the fridge for a picnic.

The invention of the dish is accredited to a florist called Constance Spry and a chef called Rosemary Hume, who prepared the combination of cold chicken and a creamy curry sauce for the Queen’s coronation in 1953.  There are many variations of the dish, including this warm coronation chicken.

You can also use leftover chicken from previous recipes such as this sweetheart chicken curry with fragrant rice to use as a coronation chicken alternative.

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
• 1 small onion, finely sliced
• 1 carrot, peeled into long, thin slices
• 2 tsp tomato purée
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 shallots, finely sliced
• 2-3 tsp curry powder of your choice
• Juice of ½ a lemon
• 295ml mayonnaise
• 160ml natural yoghurt or crème fraîche
• 3 tbsp fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• Handful of flaked almonds
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

Steps:

1. In a large saucepan, add the whole chicken breasts, the onion, carrot and bay leaves.  Cover the ingredients with water and season well with salt and pepper.  Bring the water up to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer very gently for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.  Remove the pan from the heat and place the chicken breasts onto a plate to cool down.
2. In a shallow-based frying pan, heat the oil and fry the shallots on a low to medium heat for 3-4 minutes until soft.
3. Add the curry powder to the onions, some of the chicken stock that you have just made, including the carrots.  Then stir in the lemon juice and the tomato purée.  Cook at a simmer for around 10 minutes until the sauce is reduced and thickened.
4. Slice the cooked chicken breasts into 1.5cm pieces.
5. In a separate bowl, add the yoghurt or crème fraîche along with the mayonnaise, stirring them together before adding them to the frying pan.  Taste the sauce, and if necessary, add some extra seasoning.
6. Place the chicken pieces into the frying pan and coat them all over with the sauce. Add the flaked almonds.  Turn off the heat and sprinkle all over with the fresh coriander.
7. Serve with plain boiled rice.

Duration: preparation and cooking time less than an hour
Recipe for: 4 people

Now that the summer is coming, I’m starting to think more about eating outside. Chicken and pineapple skewers can be cooked on a barbeque or in the kitchen under the grill as in this recipe. Juicy pineapple goes really well with the subtlety of chicken, and peppers are always mouth-watering when grilled or flame roasted. This side dish is great accompanied by a rice dish. Why not try this Indian-style brown rice?

I use tins of pineapple chunks for my chicken and pineapple skewers so that I can add the juice to the marinade, and save on preparation time. For a nice variation to the peppers, and as a further time saver when you need it, thread whole cherry tomatoes onto the skewers instead.