Chicken Korma

Tonight Mike and I decided to try something different!  A little while ago, I bought Food Network Magazine's Great Easy Meals Cookbook.

And I love it.  The recipes in this cookbook are really easy, and each recipe lists the nutritional information for it, along with a colored picture.  The first recipe Mike and I made from it was the Curried Chicken and Rice Soup.  Mmmm delicious.  Tonight Mike picked the dinner, and he chose Chicken Korma.  This turned out really good, but next time I think I will use some more/different spices to make the flavors more intense.  The original recipe calls for pita bread to serve the chicken on, but Mike and I served ours with Jasmine rice which went really well!  And I liked that this dish is pretty low-fat/low-cal (in the cookbook it says 463 calories/25g fat per serving with pita bread, but substituting rice for the pita bread lowers the calories/fat even more, and in my version I cut the oil to less than half what the recipe called for.  1/4 cup of oil?  No thank you!  And I used fat-free Greek yogurt instead of low-fat)!

Chicken Korma (Redhead's version, adapted from Food Network Magazine):
1 large red onion, 1/2 chopped, 1/2 sliced
1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
3 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
3 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 pound ground chicken
1/4 cup plain, fat-free Greek yogurt
 1/4 fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cup Jasmine rice

First, prep all your veggies.  Chop/slice the red onion, smash and peel the garlic, and peel/slice the ginger.  Don't be afraid of the ginger!  Think of it as an awkward, lumpy carrot:  you have to use a vegetable peeler to take off the outer skin.  Then you can work with the rest of the root in whatever way you need to.  Just make sure you wash your hands thoroughly after you prep the ginger, and don't rub your eyes like some tired Redhead did, because it will burn, and you will feel stupid.

 

Place the CHOPPED onions, ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a food processor (you can also use a blender).  Blend those suckers up to make a smooth, even mixture.  Transfer the spice mixture to a cup/dish to make it easier to add to the skillet later.  In another cup/dish, mix the yogurt with 1/4 cup water, and set aside.  This will also be added to the skillet later.
Cook the Jasmine Rice according to directions on the box.  In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat.  Add the sliced onions and cook until they turn a golden-brown color (4-5 mins). 

 

Next, add that spice mixture. 

 

Keep stirring and cooking until the spice mixture/onions get slightly dry, about 8-10mins.  Now add your ground chicken. 

Cook until the chicken is almost cooked through, then add the curry powder, crushed red pepper, and yogurt mixture.  Cook until the chicken is done, about 2-3 more minutes.  Toss in the cilantro.  Add salt to taste.  Viola!  If you like your foods more spicy, add some more crushed red pepper or a squirt of hot sauce.  I like the flavor of curry a lot, so I added a little extra curry powder to mine.  Season however you like to make it your own!

I ate mine with a scoop of Jasmine rice, a small slice of pita bread, and the greatest sauce ever: tzatziki.  Plain non-fat Greek yogurt would be good too.  Mike topped his with Sriracha hot sauce, more crushed red pepper and tzatziki (yeah, Mike likes spicy...).  Delish!