Ma Rajma Chicken Curry at HaldiSpoon in Mülheim

Mülheim is a global community. 200 nationalities and lashings of fast-food culture are scattered across this district on the right bank of the Rhine. In the middle of it all is HaldiSpoon, which, with just six tables, has a slight living-room vibe. The restaurant’s run by a three-member family team: Jessi, her brother Prabjot and Mum Jawanda, who does all the cooking. HaldiSpoon’s menu boasts around 40 curry combinations, which come served with vegan Indian naan and turmeric basmati rice. The restaurant’s name refers to the “Indian gold” of turmeric (haldi) that’s spooned into the pots. “We make our own curry mix, with coriander and fenugreek powder. As well as the yellow lentils in the dal dishes, it’s the earthy black lentils and sweet kidney beans that add texture and flavour,” Jessi tells us.

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Method

Ingredients: 400g chicken breast or a small chicken (cut into pieces), ½tsp tandoori spice mix, 4tbsp plain yoghurt, 160g black lentils (soaked overnight), 60g kidney beans (tinned), 1 onion (finely chopped), vegetable oil, 4 garlic cloves (chopped), 4cm fresh ginger (chopped or grated), 1tbsp cumin seeds, 1tbsp turmeric, 1tbsp garam masala, 1tbsp cumin powder, 1tbsp coriander powder, 800ml sieved tomatoes (passata), chilli, salt, fresh coriander to garnish (optional)

Dice the chicken. Mix the tandoori spices with the yoghurt, coat the meat in the mixture and leave it to marinate overnight. Sear the chicken. Simmer the lentils in a saucepan of water until cooked. Add the kidney beans. Fry the onion in oil in a frying pan until golden brown. Add the garlic, ginger and cumin seeds and fry for one or two minutes. Add turmeric, garam masala, cumin and coriander powder. Fry briefly to allow the flavours to develop. Then purée everything along with the sieved tomatoes to make a creamy sauce. Simmer for five to seven minutes to thicken (add water if you like). Put the beans, lentils and chicken in the sauce and simmer. Season with chilli and salt to taste, garnish with coriander and serve with basmati rice and/or naan.