Chicken Balti Pie

• 3cm ginger
• 6 garlic cloves
• 2 tomatoes, quartered
• 1½ tsp garam masala
• 1½ tsp cumin seeds, crushed
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds, crushed 
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 tbsp full-fat Greek yogurt
• Salt, to taste
• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 1 tsp brown mustard seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 6 green chillies, chopped (reduce if this is too many for you)
• 700g boneless chicken thigh fillets, cut into bite-size chunks
• 200g spinach, sliced
• Black peppercorns, freshly ground
• 1 tbsp lemon juice, or to taste
• Large handful of finely chopped, fresh coriander leaves 

Pastry

• 6 sheets puff pastry
• 1 egg, whisked
• 1 tsp mustard seeds

Method

1. Blend together the ginger and garlic and set to one side.
2. Grind the cumin and coriander seeds and set to one side.
3. Blend the tomatoes to a paste and stir in the ground spices, garam masala, turmeric, Kashmiri chilli powder, yoghurt and salt.
4. Heat the oil in a non-stick saucepan (or karahi if you have one) and add the mustard seeds. 
5. Once the mustard seeds pop, add the bay leaf and chopped onion.
6. Stir and cook on a medium heat. After about 15 minutes add the minced ginger and garlic with the chopped green chillies for 10-20 minutes until the onions are golden. If the onions catch, add a splash of water and continue to cook the onions.
7. Stir in the blended tomatoes, spices and yoghurt mix. Turn the heat up and stir until the mixture thickens and you are left with a thick masala paste (10 minutes).
8. Add the chicken pieces and stir into the thick masala to coat it. 
9. Reduce the heat and place the lid on the pan. Leave to cook for about 20 minutes, stirring every now and again.
10. The chicken will produce a lovely thick gravy. Once the chicken is cooked through add the spinich and cook for a few minutes. You can adjust the consistency of the sauce just add a little hot water to loosen to ensure you have enough sauce for the pie. 
11. Once cooked, add some black pepper and a squeeze of lemon, then check the seasoning.
12. Stir in the chopped coriander and remove the bay leaf.

Pastry

1. Preheat oven to 200°C.
2. Using four 9cm pie tins or foil pie cases cut out 4x12cm circles from pastry sheets and push into each of the tins. Divide the filling to fill each pie tin.
3. Use the remaining pastry to cut out four 11cm rounds to top the filling.
4. Cover pies with pastry rounds, crimping edges to seal. Make a hole in the centre of the pie.
5. Brush with egg wash and scatter with mustard seeds. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Served with

Serve with some masala mash and spiced green beans and dare I say it.....some Bisto chicken gravy!! Happy days!