Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Quick Chicken and Vegetable Curry



Back when Caleb and I were dating and engaged, he used to meet me for lunch quite often.  I am amazed now that he cleared time in his schedule (and drove across town) almost every day in order to spend time with me.  We had our favorite places that were within minutes of my work--the bagel place, the soup place, the French place...but my favorite was definitely the Indian place.  I had not eaten much Indian food before then, and I had no idea what I was missing out on!

Now, with two little girls, going out to lunch is a rare occasion, and it has been quite a while since we've visited the Indian place.  My solution?  Making my own chicken masala and chicken curry at home.  Now, I realize that this is more of a Thai curry, but to be honest, I don't know what the difference is--I actually added garam masala to it, just because it's probably my favorite spice blend ever.  So while this is not exactly authentic, it's certainly delicious and satisfies my cravings! 

Quick Chicken and Vegetable Curry
Printer-friendly version
  • 2 tsp canola oil
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1- to 2-inch-long julienne strips
  • 1 large carrot, cut into 1- to 2-inch-long julienne strips
  • 1 medium onion, halved and sliced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
  • 1-2 teaspoons red curry paste, to taste (I used much more than this) 
  • 1 Tbs garam masala (optional)
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 cup “lite” coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce or reduced-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
  • 2 cups baby spinach
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • Lime wedges


Add oil to hot large saute pan over med-high heat.   Add peppers, carrots and onions and cook 3-4 minutes, until starting to get tender.  Add garlic, ginger, and curry paste.  Stir, then add chicken.  Cook and stir until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Stir in broth, coconut milk, fish or soy sauce, and brown sugar, and bring to a simmer.   Cook until vegetables are tender, and chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Stir in spinach and lime juice, and cook just until spinach is wilted.  Serve immediately over brown rice*, with warm naan.

*You will have about one cup of lite coconut milk left after making the curry.  If you are not saving it for another use, sub it in for part of your rice water.

Yield: 4 servings
Source: adapted from Eating Well

3 comments:

jacquelyn elzinga said...

Looks amazing! I will be trying it out. Jeff actaully had it up on the computer this morning before I even got out of bed. :)

Emily said...

Haha, yeah our favorite "Indian place" is also yours, I think :) I remember you mentioning it a few times. Hope you like this one when you try it!

Donie222 said...

I love it good job Auntie Emily :)