Chicken and Okra Tagine

Ingredients
6 chicken thighs (use breast if on weightloss)
350-500g okra (depends on size of your pan)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions sliced
2.5 teaspoons of whole coriander seeds
5 cloves of garlic crushed
1/2 teaspoon xylitol
1.5 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons of tomatoe puree
2 cartons/cans of tomatoes
150ml water
juice of 1 lemon

Method
To start, perpare the okra: wash, cut off the stalks, place in a bowl. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and a spinkling of salt over them. Mix and leave to stand (this preserves their colour and prevents sliminess)

In a large tagine (or pan/casserole dish) gently heat the olive oil. Add the onions, coriander seeds (whole) and fry gently fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the crushed garlic, xylitol and oregano, tomato puree, tomatoes and water. Mix well and allow the sauce to bubble up. Once bubbling add the chicken. (if using chicken breast add them whole and slice up at the end). Cover and leave to cook for 25 minutes.

Rinse off the okra. Arrange them ontop of the chicken. Squeeze the lemon juice over them, replace the lid and leave for another 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the okra should be a bit crunchy, not mushy.

Place the chicken in a serving dish and spoon over the sauce. Serve warm with couscous or brown rice (if wheat free). Et Voila!

Tips: Don't eat the chicken skin. This contains a lot of fat. If you can buy skinless chicken this would be preferred.

To speed up this recipe use chicken breast instead of thighs as they will cook faster. You could then add the okra in after 15 minutes instead of the 25.

I use an Emile Henry tagine as it can be used for many dishes and is oven proof. It also makes a cool centre piece when entertaining but really any tagine or casserole dish will work.

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