This 5-Ingredient Chicken Curry is the perfect weeknight dinner option for when you want a nice, take-out style meal in under 30 minutes - or, alternatively, a banging self-isolation recipe.

How are you doing, guys? It looks like more and more countries are imposing a lockdown at the moment. Two days ago, the UK declared that we should remain indoors, all but essential businesses would shut, and that we should only need the house to buy groceries and for some form of exercise everyday. Needless to say, panic buying has enjoyed a new wave of popularity. Why do people do that? It's not like food will stop being produced! If we all carried on as usual, maybe buying that extra few items just in case, there would be no shortages whatsover. None. Instead, now supermarkets have to work extra hard to keep with demand and shelves are getting emptier and emptier. It drives me insane!

Right. Rant over. Because we are all indoors at the moment, you are probably looking for ways to kill time (aka cooking and baking). I know I am! I have been producing content for the blog like mad for the past few days, which is great. Problem is, because of the shortages, not many of us will be able to get all the ingredients we need to try out those ambitious, time-consuming, masterchef-like recipes we would really LOVE to try in moments like this. So, to contrast that, I am now creating a series of recipes requiring minimal or different ingredients than usual, which you might be able to find at the supermarket or, even better, that you might have already at home. As you can see, I am following my latest blog post about smart food shopping to the letter - and it's working!

I think the advantage of these recipes is that they not only suit times like the ones we are living in, but will also be super handy when we all go back to work and to busier lives and we realise all of a sudden that we can no longer make a 24-hour raising pizza dough fromscratch on a weeknight. And what a depressing realisation that will be! So I bet you will be pleased to have these quick and easy recipes in your arsenal for when that happens.

This chicken curry is probably one of my all-time favourite quick dinners. It's perfect really because, if I am in a rush, or I am starving, I know that this delicious dinner will be ready in 20 minutes or so. If I have time to spare though, I know I can lower the heat and let this beauty bubble away and become creamier and tastier as the time goes. You have basically got yourself a jack of all trades.

This curry really is delicious. I am not claiming it's authentic. Let's say it's a shortcut to curry. But let's face it, if the choice is this or a ready-made curry you can get at the supermarket, this one beats every single pre-packaged option you can find.

I discovered this amazing chicken curry thanks to my friend Joanna (aka the Queen of Curries) whom you might remember for another great recipe on this site: Jo's Comforting Lentil Curry. Again, our recipes slight differ, but the inspiration for this dish came solely from her. She made it to me several times when we were flatmates at university. When we had something to celebrate, we would all chip in some money and Jo would make this curry, her lentil one, and buy naan, poppadoms, raita, mango chutney and onion bahjis. We had a feast! So that's another thing about this curry: it can become a great, fuss-free centrepiece of a proper curry night banquet! So bear that in mind my friends, for when we can all hang out together again.

Now, the ingredients are as follow: red onion, garlic, curry paste, chicken and single cream. If you only have brown onion around, that's totally fine. I love red onion for the hint of sweetness they give to a dish, but if you normally cook with other onions it will not make a great difference.

For the garlic, I use two big cloves. I love me garlic, I do. But if you are less keen, just use less (and I will try not to judge you for that).

For the curry paste: literally any curry paste would do. Use the one you could find at the store or, if you are lucky, your favourite one. Korma, Tandoori, Tikka Masala. I had Madras so I used that and it was delicious. Just don't use curry sauce and watch out when you are at the store that you don't mix the two up - I have done that and it sucks when you realise what you have done!

For the chicken: I used four chicken tighs here. You can absolutely use breasts, but bear in mind that chicken breasts are less tender and absorb less flavour than tighs. Other than that, they are interchangeable.

And finally for the cream: I use single cream and a lot of it. You can use creme freche if you want a lighter option. You can also use double cream if that's what you have but you might want to add a splash of milk to loosen the texture a little. I would avoid using yogurt or Greek yogurt because I find it often sorts of "cradles" in this sort of dishes. And you don't want that.

This curry is perfect for a family-stile dinner, especially if accompanied with some basmati rice and/or naan. We splashed out last time we made it, and added a dollop of mango chutney. The dream.

Ingredients:

Serves 3 to 4

4 or 5 chicken tighs (or small chicken breasts)

3 tbsp curry paste of your choice (use less if you want it less hot)

1 red onion

2 garlic cloves

280 ml single cream

Optional:

Basmati rice

Naan

Mango chutney

Method:

1. Cut the chicken in small bite-size pieces.

2. Finely chop the onion and sautée it for 2 or 3 minutes with a splash or olive oil or water. Add water as needed to prevent burning or sticking to the bottom of the pan.

3. Crush the garlic cloves and add them to the pan. Cook for another minute.

4. Now add the curry paste and mix well. Sautée for another minute or so.

5. Add the chicken. Cook for about 5 to 8 minutes, or until all have been no longer pink for a couple of minutes.

6. Add the cream, mix everything together. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and let bubble away for 10 minutes or so. It will be ready and delicious like that. However if you have more time at hand, the longer you cook it, the better it will taste.

7. Serve over rice and/or naan.

This curry can be stored in the fridge for uo to 48 hours. It can also be frozen for a month.

Enjoy!