Coconut Chicken Curry Recipe: Good stuff

    Today I went from activity to activity, which can be good, but also a little tiring.  One of the activities was getting to serve at a women's shelter by helping to clean the kitchen with my group from Bible Study.  It was a great chance to get out of our routine and be reminded of how amazingly blessed we are. 

     I like having heart checks like this that help me to see beyond myself and my little world.  While I was cooking dinner tonight, I thanked God for my (mostly) clean kitchen where I never lack for food.  What a blessing.

     Onto the curry.  A few years back, when we were in Costa Rica, (which is actually talked about years ago on this very blog, here) I fell in love with Coconut Chicken Curry, which is by no means Costa Rican.  We just happened to eat at a very good Indian restaurant there.  So I scoured All Recipes and found this recipe and modified it a bit to get what I liked.  It is a mild curry that has a hint of sweetness with large doses of flavor and a bit of heat a well, and it is largely healthy.  And Lily even ate a little bit of it.  (a very little bit)

Here is the ingredient list.  (I doubled the original recipe, because I like to make more for Food Co-Op or to freeze it)

4 TB Olive Oil

2 Onions, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 pounds chopped chicken breast

1 Medium sized head of cauliflower, chopped

Dash of Yellow Curry Powder

5 TB Garam Masala (an Indian spice mix that I found at the local Indian grocer or can be purchased on Amazon here)

2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 (14 oz) cans of unsweetened coconut milk

2/3 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup lime juice

salt and pepper to taste

Here are most of the ingredients.  As you can see, I often buy off-brand and I like the easy substitutions of minced garlic and instant bouillon.  I am sure if I used better ingredients, things may taste a little better - however, I like the ease and cost of what I use and mostly, I really like the results.

I always chop onions using a food processor.  I think I would say it is my favorite kitchen appliance.

One of my onions had a bonus for me.  I had a special feeling about it at the grocery store and was delighted to discover the truth.  Here is my onion and its absorbed twin.

This is the size and amount of cauliflower that I used.

Now, to get started cooking.  Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.  Stir in the onion, garlic, and dash of yellow curry powder and cook until tender.

Mix in the chicken (which I cut with scissors) and cook 10 minutes, or until the juices run clear.

Mix in the cauliflower, garam masala, brown sugar and the garlic powder into the pan.

Pour in the coconut milk, lime juice, and chicken stock and season with salt and pepper to taste.  I also added a small dash of cayenne to give it a little more heat.

I had a bag of edamame in the freezer that I decided to toss in on a whim at the end.  I really like the way it came out.

Reduce heat to low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.  Serve over rice.

I serve this with Coconut Rice, which I sort of made up.  I measure out one can of coconut milk and use water to get to the amount of liquid that I will need to go with the amount of rice I am making.  Then I add garlic powder to it, to increase the flavor a little more.  I decided that rice could absorb any liquid, and so far, I have had good results with this theory (I have also made rice with lime juice to go with a Mexican meal, yum).  I am sure there are probably better recipes out there for this, but this is what works for me.  I also serve it with a flat bread that I get at the Indian grocer as well - it makes the meal feel more authentic.

Enjoy!  If you make this, please let me know if you change something up and it works great or what you think of it.