Chicken curry loaves

This is a different way to present one of my favourite dishes.

Really easy to make, fast, tasty and cheap. What more could you ask for?

At first glance this appears complicated, but, on this occasion, appearances are deceptive. This really is a "can't go wrong" recipe.

INGREDIENTS

approx 300gr chicken (cooked or raw),

3 mini ciabatta or 1 large ciabatta or similar hard crusted loaf,

curry powder,

2 chillies, (chopped)

1 red pepper, (sliced)

1 onion, (sliced)

250gr rice,

freshly ground turmeric, (ground turmeric or food colouring will do)

salt, olive oil and 500ml of single cream,

chopped coriander to decorate.

STEPS

1)Boil the rice in a pan of salted water (about 700ml),

2)Fry the chillies and the onion in a covered frying-pan on a med/low flame, with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Add a little salt to help the onion sweat.

3)After a couple of minutes, add the red pepper and the freshly grated turmeric if you are using it. If you are using either ground turmeric or food colouring, do not add it yet.

4)Whilst the onions etc. are gently frying, slice the loaves in half, and hollow them.

5)When the onion becomes transparent (5-6 min after adding the red peppers), add the chicken. If you are using ground turmeric or food colouring, now is the time to add it. Continue frying for 2/3 minutes, until the chicken has heated thoroughly.

If you are using raw chicken you will need to leave a few minutes more for this. The chicken should be fully cooked before passing to the next stage.

6)When the chicken is cooked, add the single cream, stir well and allow to heat for a couple of minutes so that it acquires the colour you are looking for. You still have time to rectify the colour of the curry by adding a little colourant, whether or not you are using fresh turmeric.

7)Remove from the flame and cover for a couple of minutes while the rice finishes cooking and you drain it.