Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Indian Chicken Curry

I'm not dead!  Things have just been crazy with school and some work and a new allergy.  Who would have thought that one more would turn life upside down.  We're now avoiding all dairy.  I'm waiting for another shoe to drop.  Seriously.  However, in the middle of all of this I've gotten pretty creative with coconut milk, almond milk, and cultured (not)milk.  It's exciting, and always a cooking adventure where I live.  Which is why I decided to make this Chicken Curry recipe.  It turned out SO good that I want to share it!  This was modified from allrecipes.com.


Needs:
·      3 tablespoons olive oil
·      1 small onion, chopped
·      1 teaspoon crushed garlic
·      ¼ cup curry powder
·      1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
·      1 teaspoon chili powder
·      1 bay leaf (MAGICAL)
·      1/2 teaspoon ginger
·      1/2 teaspoon white sugar
·      1 teaspoon salt
·      2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite-size pieces
·      1 tablespoon tomato paste
·      1 cup plain coconut yogurt
·      3/4 cup almond or coconut milk
·      1 tablespoon lemon juice
·      Plain couscous for 4-6. 

Prep:
Cut your chicken into bite size pieces.  I advise mixing together the curry powder, cinnamon, chili powder, bay leaf, ginger, sugar, and salt in a small bowl.  It just makes that step much easier.
Directions:
1.      Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until lightly browned (this takes about ten minutes – be patient you want the onions really nice and sweet). Stir in the bowl that contains your garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, paprika, bay leaf, ginger, sugar and salt. Continue stirring for 2 minutes. Add chicken pieces and stir well.  Then add tomato paste, coconut yogurt, and milk substitute. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
2.      Start boiling the water for your couscous, and follow the directions.
3.      Remove bay leaf, and stir in lemon juice. Simmer 5 more minutes.
4.      Serve curry on top of couscous.  This dish had a side of black lentils at our house! Enjoy!