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Chef cooks 'world's healthiest meal'

By Lucy Halfhead on Friday 30 October 2009

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After two years of research, a chef claims to have created the 'world's healthiest meal' - a chicken and blueberry curry with goji berry pilau rice.

It blends traditional ingredients feted for their health benefits with contemporary 'superfoods' said to help stave off everything from cancer to Alzheimer's disease.

According to reports in the Daily Mail, a single plate is said to contain as many health-boosting antioxidants as 49 bowls of spinach, 23 bunches of grapes or nine helpings of broccoli.

Gurpareet Bains, who devised the dish, told the paper: 'Combining these two genres of foodstuffs seemed logical in any quest to find the world's healthiest meal. The curry I have created is brimming with health-beneficial ingredients that could, if eaten regularly, deal a devastating blow to many diseases.'

'This curry is all about health, taste and budget,' he said. 'It can be thrown together for about £2.50 per person, and the health benefits it offers are outstanding.

SEE the recipe below.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

FOR THE CURRY

20g coriander, chopped
200g fresh or frozen blueberries
2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
3/4 tsp salt or to taste
500g low-fat Greek yoghurt
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1tsp chilli powder
500g of chicken breast, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 tsp garam masala

FOR THE PILAU RICE

2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, sliced
1 tsp turmeric
1 grated carrot
1 cup Basmati rice
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
50g goji berries
Handful of peas

METHOD
1. Blend the chopped coriander, blueberries, ginger and salt with 500g of low-fat Greek yoghurt, and set aside.
2. Place the chopped garlic into a saucepan with the olive oil and heat on a low-medium flame until the garlic starts to turn brown - this should take no longer than one or two minutes. Add the turmeric, mix well and heat through for 20 seconds. Mix in the ground cinnamon and chilli powder and cook for a further 20 seconds.
3. Add the chopped chicken breast, and seal, stirring frequently - this should take no more than five minutes. Now slowly pour the yoghurt mixture, mixing into the chicken, and bring to a simmer on a low heat. Simmer for 10 minutes uncovered, stirring from time to time. Mix through the garam masala and garnish with extra coriander.
4. To cook the pilau place the cumin seeds and olive oil into a saucepan and heat on a low-medium flame until the seeds begin to pop - about three minutes. Fry the onion and cook until soft. Then add the turmeric powder, stir and heat for 20 seconds and add one grated carrot. Cook for two minutes.
5. Place the onion mixture, basmati rice, pinch of salt and the 1 3/4 cups of boiling water into a large microwaveable bowl and mix with a fork. Cook uncovered in the microwave for 4 minutes (700W), 3 1/2 minutes (800W) or 3 minutes (900W). Mix and cook for a further 4 minutes (700W), 3 1/2 minutes(800W) or 3 minutes (900W). Finally cover and continue to cook for 4 minutes (700W), 3 1/2 minutes (800W) or 3 minutes (900W).
6. To finish add the goji berries and peas and let stand covered for 10 minutes. Fluff the pilau with a fork, and serve.

10 BEST SUPER FOODS

MORE RECIPES HERE

Friday 30 October 2009

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The recipe looked so amazing I couldn't help myself. I've tried it and it tastes AMAZING!!!! So glad there is something that is that good for health and tastes so great :) Love it!
Comment by sarah on October 30 11:44

Amazing! I love a good curry, so will definitely be giving this one a go!
Comment by Kathryn on October 30 11:48

Wow this looks great, thanks Marie Claire it's nice to have some positive health news for a change! I will give this recipe a go over the weekend.
Comment by Josie on October 30 12:44

Sounds nice but besides the addition of blueberries and goji berries it doesn't seem to differ much in ingredients to any regular curry. Perhaps I'm missing something here, but if that's all it takes to make a regular dish the healthiest in the world, why has it taken two years to create? (I'm not slating it or doubting, I'm just generally puzzled!)
Comment by Jade on October 30 13:47

Recipe sounds enticing but can it be converted to non-microwave as this form of cooking destroys 97% of flavanoids
Comment by Paul on October 30 15:13

@Jade @Paul ... There is a whopping use of cinnamon, one of the world's most powerful superfoods. 100g of cinnamon is equivalent to 230+ bunches of grapes in antioxidant terms according to the USDA. Microwaving does not destory antioxidants, and the goji berries are not cooked in the recipe anyway.
Comment by Joanne on October 31 10:29

I'd agree with Paul on the microwave cooking and take it 1 step further to say that an awful lot of the good nutrients and properties found in the blueberries, goji berries, garlic, turmeric, onion, carrot, herbs etc will be greatly reduced or destroyed by cooking and would all be infinitely better eaten raw!
Comment by Caroline Baker on November 01 15:34

I LOVED it Gurpareet! I really enjoyed the flavour of the pilau and so did Elliott and Mark. I particularly liked the texture of the curry, it didn't taste loaded in oil like a restaurant curry can be, and I loved the warm tummy feeling after. I will be making it for myself and friends soon. I have some veggie friends, can I substitute the chicken? Get your book out - I want to try the other recipies now.

Comment by Sarah Gates on November 08 12:03

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