I used to cook Indian curries all the time before we had a house full of little picky eaters. The other day, when Donnie was scooping some sour cream onto a taco, he said, “I miss putting sour cream on top of those good curries you used to make.” Zach is a much more adventurous eater now that he’s reached the Hungry Teens, so tonight, I gave chicken curry another go.
It was SO good! And this is a very healthy, very flexible recipe. Substitute sweet or new potatoes for the plain ones, use butternut squash or parsnips, add turnips or a drained can of chick peas. Substitute beef or lamb for the chicken, or near the end, add a cup of frozen peas or green beans. Try different flavors of curry sauce until you find your favorite. Serve over couscous instead of rice, or put the stew in a bowl with flatbread for sopping it up. The combinations are truly endless!
(I apologize for the lack of a photo, but Little Man has hidden the camera again and I can’t find it!)
3 potatoes, cut into 1″ cubes
2 large carrots, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
1 generous teaspoon jarred minced garlic
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
Salt and pepper to taste
½ teaspoon curry powder
4 chicken breast halves
½ cup frozen spinach, thawed
1 12-to-16 oz jar Indian curry sauce (Like this one from Pataks)
Put potatoes, carrots and onion into a 2-quart crock pot. Lay chicken breasts on top of potato mixture. Mix together tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper and curry powder, then pour over chicken and vegetables. Cover and cook on high for about 4 hours or until chicken is done and potatoes are tender. Remove the chicken and chop it into bite-sized pieces. While you’re doing that, stir the spinach into the crock pot along with the jar of curry sauce. Stir chicken chunks back into the pot. Let simmer on low another 20-30 minutes until hot. Serve on rice, and offer sour cream or plain yogurt for topping. I also top my serving with a little mango chutney or raisins, for a bit of sweetness, and thinly sliced green onions. And if the curry sauce isn’t hot enough, I add siracha hot sauce or diced fresh jalapeno peppers, if I have them.