Spicing up 2014 with Chicken Curry
Made a New Year’s resolution to diversify your culinary efforts? Try cooking a curry! I’m not gonna claim that my Indian cooking is the most authentic in the world—I’m not grinding my own whole spices here—but it’s tasty and pretty easy to make. If you don’t have the spices I listed, check out the bulk spice bins at your local Whole Foods or other healthy market. Buying just a few teaspoons in bulk is waaaay cheaper than spending like $12 on a whole container if you don’t think you’re going to be using it frequently.
I’ll also take a moment to give a shoutout to my peeps at Stonefire. In my opinion the Indian food experience isn’t complete without some delicious naan to sop up all the sauce, and the Stonefire brand makes some of the best store-bought versions I’ve tried. They reached out and asked me to whip up some recipes to pair with their products, so here’s a fairly simple curry to get you started. If you want to make this one vegetarian, never fear, just don’t include the chicken.
Spicy Indian Chicken Curry
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup peas
any of your other favorite vegetables you’d like to include! I threw in a red bell pepper I needed to use up.
1 cup plain yogurt (I used nonfat but feel free to use lowfat, Greek, etc.)
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tbsp cayenne (or less, if you don’t like it as spicy)
2 tbsp curry powder
Heat up one tablespoon of the coconut oil in a small skillet and brown your chicken breast until it’s just cooked through, about 10-15 minutes depending on how big your pieces are. Take out the chicken and set aside. Warm up the other tablespoon of oil over medium heat in a large saute or saucepan and throw in your onions and garlic. Stirring to make sure the garlic doesn’t burn, heat until the onions turn translucent, 5 minutes or so.
Add in all the spices and brown them in the coconut oil along with the onions and garlic. This should smell terrific! Add the chicken and vegetables and pour the can of tomatoes over them. Bring everything to a simmer and let it cook together until the veggies are tender (but not mushy!). Stir in your yogurt and give it a taste—feel free to add additional spices to fit your preferences! Personally, I dump way more curry powder in there, but I’m crazy like that.
Serve your curry over a scoop of jasmine rice with a piece of Stonefire naan on the side!
For more healthy recipes, cocktails, food travel, and restaurant reviews, check out ES Emily’s individual blog, A Time to Kale, or tweet her @emilyteachout.
