The warmer weather in summer is a great time to have a picnic and there’s no reason why picnic food should be boring. Geoff Jansz spiced up a picnic with curried chicken muffins which are savory and carry well.

 Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 medium onions, thickly sliced
• 3 chicken thigh fillets (200g), chopped
• 2 tablespoons curry paste of your choice (not Thai-style)
• 1 cup natural yoghurt
• 2 1/4 cups self raising flour
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil, extra
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Method

1. Preheat oven to 190°C. Grease a 12 segment muffin tin well with butter or oil. Make sure you grease the top of the tin as well because when the muffins rise they could stick to that area.
2. Heat oil in a pan and tip in the onion rings. Cook on a medium heat, stirring often. Cook the onions without browning them by adding a splash of water, it should take about five to ten minutes. Put the onions aside when cooked. Three-quarters of the onions will be used for presentation, chop up the other quarter. Heat the pan again and add a little bit of oil and the chicken. Stir the chicken until it begins to turn white and then add the curry paste. Cook that slightly, adding a splash of water, to speed up the process. Cook for about a further minute then remove from the heat and stir in yoghurt. Let it cool slightly.
3. Sift flour into a large bowl, from a good height to aerate it for a better muffin mix. Add the chopped onions, lemon juice, eggs, vegetable oil, cooled curried chicken and chopped coriander and mix well. Spoon the mixture into the greased muffin tin and present the onion rings on top by gently pressing them into the muffin mix. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until they’ve risen and are golden. Put them onto a wire rack to cool completely, otherwise they will become soggy when wrapped up to take on a picnic. No need for plates, forks or knives, perfect picnic food.

Makes 12 muffins