Chicken in Garam Masala/Red Curry, kinda

Currently cooking out of Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way by Lorna Sass.

Somehow, I managed to buy half of the ingredients for this recipe and half the ingredients for another recipe and didn’t realize it until I started cooking. I ended up with a Frankenstein recipe: the head of this recipe with the body of  Sass’ Thai Chicken Soup recipe. Fortunately for our bellies, the results were pretty tasty (cold cereal was the backup dinner). The curry paste gave the stew a gentle heat that went nicely with the coconut milk. Neither flavor was overwhelming and, in fact, it mostly tasted of tomatoes. Next time, I might try using less tomatoes and more of everything else.

I substituted red curry paste for the garam masala (an Indian spice mixture) and served the mixture over brown rice. I kept the unsweetened coconut milk, but ditched the fresh ginger and the pistachio nuts. I also cut my chicken into bite-sized pieces while Sass used whole chicken tenders.

Hmmm. It might be more appropriate to consider Sass’ recipes as inspiration, which, in my opinion, is the earmark of a truly good cookbook.

This is the last recipe out of Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way. Overall, I really enjoyed cooking out of this book, and I’ve got to hand it to Sass who comes up with some really easy ways to incorporate whole grains into one’s diet. I’ve got some new recipes that will go into regular rotation around our house, as well as an appreciation for the flavor that whole grains can add to baked goods (my modified lemon poppyseed muffins with spelt flour are killer).

And, since I really mangled Sass’ original recipes for this stew-like dish, I’m posting my version after the jump.

Chicken in red curry paste adapted from several recipes in Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way by Lorna Sass

Note: Use this as a starting point to create your own flavors. If you want something really spicy, add more of the curry paste. Don’t like curry? Leave it out and add thyme or some other dried herb. This stew would be good over any grain. I just happened to have a bag of brown basmati rice that I wanted to use up. We got two dinners out of this dish.

2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1-2 tablespoons red curry paste
1 can diced tomatoes (I used roasted garlic diced tomatoes because that’s what I bought).
1/2 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk, well stirred (I used light coconut milk)
Salt and pepper to taste

Cooked brown rice

In a large frying pan, heat up a couple of tablespoons of oil over medium or medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and saute until soft and starting to brown. Add the chicken and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the curry paste and stir until the chicken and onions are coated.

To the chicken mixture add the chicken broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then lower the  heat so the mixture is simmering. Cover and let cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the chicken is done.

Once the chicken is done, stir in the coconut milk and adjust the seasonings. Serve over brown rice or your favorite grain. Green peas make a nice side dish.