Dayna one Skillet Curry

Chicken marinade-
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs (i cubed mine)
1/2 t cumin
1 t paprika
1 t turmeric
1t garlic powder or 3 garlic cloves
1t ginger (she said 1 T)
3/4t salt and and dash pepper
1/4-1t cayenne (I omitted)
3/4c nonfat plain greek yogurt (I didnt have yogurt so I used mayo and tahini)
1 small lemon


Rice
1 T oil
1 can coconut milk
1/2t red pepper
1/2t turmeric
1/2t cumin
1/8t coriander
1/2t salt
pepper
1c uncooked rice
3/4c green peas
carrots, peppers, potatoes, zucchini

In a bowl add the chicken and marinade seasonings let sit for 1-5 hours.
In large skillet add oil, wait till hot, add chicken cook till browned 4-5minutes, then flip and cook 2 min. Remove from pan and put on a plate.

In same skillet add coconut milk and all rice ingredients , bring to simmer, then pour in rice. Add browned chicken on top of rice. Reduce heat to low and cover skillet, cook for 20-25 minutes.

10/10/19 I really loved it, the mayo and tahini worked well for the yogurt.  next time do 2 c of rice and increase rice seasonings and coconut milk

Crockpot Tikka Masala and Flatbread

Tikka Masala and Butter Chicken are super similar in the ingredients. Butter chicken is cut into small bite size pieces and tossed in the seasonings and marinaded over night. Tikka is raw chicken with the bone put in the crockpot.

1 – 1 1/2 lbs. chicken breast or thighs (boneless, skinless)
1 onion, diced
1 Tbsp coconut oil
3–4 cloves garlic, minced (I put 5)
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 tsp fresh turmeric (or about 1 tsp dried)
2 tsp garam masala (I added curry powder b/c I didn't have garam)
1 tsp dried coriander
1 tsp cumin 
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp chili flakes (didnt have)
1/2 tsp salt
pinch cloves
2–3 Tbsp tomato paste (didnt have)
1 (14oz) can coconut milk (I prefer full-fat)
1 cup broth or water
1/4–1/2 cup fresh cilantro, minced
OPTIONAL: IF YOU LIKE A THICKER SAUCE:
2 Tbsp arrowroot powder or 1 Tbsp cornstarch

INSTRUCTIONS
Place the chicken in the crock of your slow cooker.
To make the sauce, heat coconut oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook 5-7 minutes, or until translucent.
Add ginger, garlic, turmeric, garam masala, coriander, cumin, chili powder, chili flakes, cloves and salt. Cook 1-2 minutes more, or until very fragrant.
Stir in tomato paste, coconut milk, and broth (or water) and stir to combine.
Pour sauce over the chicken.
Cook on HIGH about 3 hours or on low 5-6 hours.
(If you like a thicker sauce, mix arrowroot OR cornstarch with about 1 Tbsp water. Add to slow cooker in the last 3-5 minutes before serving.  Stir in cilantro right before serving.

8/28/19 Next time make a double batch of this sauce and freeze it for a future dinner. 

Simple Naan (no yeast or rising)  

The Kitchen Paper

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp oil (I used olive, you could use anything relatively mild)
1/2 cup* milk
butter + herbs for seasoning

Combine all dry ingredients, and whisk together.
Create a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, and add the oil and milk. Mix everything together until it forms a ball. Turn out on the counter and knead until very smooth and elastic — at least 5 minutes — adding more flour as necessary.
Let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Divide into 8-10 equal pieces.
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Roll one piece of dough until very thin (less than 1/8″). If the skillet isn’t non-stick, melt some butter before each piece. One at a time, cook the naan for about 90 seconds, or until parts are blackening, on each side. When they are done, you can brush them with butter and add seasonings (cilantro, garlic, etc.), if you want.

Lentil curry

1 1/2 cups lentils, rinsed and picked over
1/2 large onion, diced
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons curry paste
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
1 14-ounce can tomato puree or chopped tomatoes

2 c water

3 sliced carrots

lemon or lime (juice and pour on right before its served)

Optional- can add coconut milk, but I didnt have any

1.  Cook the lentils according to directions. Drain and set aside.
2.  Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute for a few minutes until fragrant and golden. Add all the spices (curry paste, curry powder, turmeric, cayenne, sugar, garlic, ginger) and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato puree; stir and simmer until smooth.
3. Add the lentils and the water or cream. Stir to combine and simmer for another 15-20 minutes (the longer, the better)! Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro.

I served with rice on the side and a Dad salad (1 washed whole romaine lettuce leaf for each person).

It actually was even better the next day, so delicious to me! The kids didn't love it.

ISLAND COCONUT CHICKEN AND RICE

Doctor Yum

serves 4 people, double

8ppl     4ppl

2          1 tablespoon olive oil

2          1 onion , diced

2          1 teaspoon ginger , grated (fresh)

8          4 cloves garlic , minced

2          1 tablespoon curry powder

2          1 teaspoon turmeric

4          2 pounds chicken thighs (bone-in)

1          ½ teaspoon salt

1/2       ¼ teaspoon black pepper

2cans   13.5 ounce can coconut milk (regular or light)

1           ½ cup water

2          1½ cups jasmine rice (brown rice, preferably)

4           2 tablespoons cilantro , chopped (save and chop stems)

2          1 lime , half juiced, the other half cut into wedges

METHOD

Place the Instant Pot on "Saute" mode and heat oil. Add onion, ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Add spices, chicken, salt and pepper and cook on each side for a minute to lightly brown. Add coconut milk and water (1/4 cup for white rice and 1/2 cup for brown rice). Place lid on and cook on "Manual" high pressure for 13 minutes with a Quick Release. Transfer the chicken to a plate and leave liquid in the pot. Shred the chicken away from the bone and discard any bones and skin. Add rice, cilantro stems, and cook on "Manual" high pressure for 4 minutes for white rice (22 minutes for brown rice). Allow a Natural Release for 10 minutes then release the remainder of the pressure. Stir in lime juice and shredded chicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with lime wedges and chopped cilantro.

12/1/18 I made this is my stove top pressure cooker and the rice burned at the bottom, but it was still amazingly delicious
12/29/18 I made it again. I seasoned the chicken and browned both sides on the stove top first. Then added chicken to a greased 8x8 pan, milk, water, rice to a  to cook in the oven, still definitely delicious, 350 degrees 

3/18/19
350 degree oven
I seasoned the chicken and browned both sides on the stove top first. Spray 9x13 pan, arrange chicken and the rest of ingredients in pan and cook. I did  2 cups of rice b/c my 9x13 pan wouldnt be able to fit 3 c rice and chicken thighs.

4/7/20
did all things as 3/18/19 and used 2 c of sushi rice.  Cooked for 35 min, then 15 more min. Turned out perfect. So cook next time for 55 min in oven.

LENTILS WITH SPINACH OVER RICE

Doctor Yum

INGREDIENTS

2 cups brown rice, cooked according to packaging (I actually prefer it on a sweet potato, not rice)

1 tablespoon coconut oil (substitute olive oil)

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic

½ tomato, diced (large)

1 teaspoon curry powder

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

¼ teaspoon chili powder (less for baby food option) (I didn't add)

1 cup lentils (red), rinsed with cold water (I only had brown)

2 cups baby spinach, coarsely chopped (finer chop for baby food) (I didn't add)

⅔ cup culinary coconut milk (not coconut milk beverage) (I didn't add, but I did add water)

½ teaspoon salt

dash black pepper

chicken 1/4-1/2t boullion

sweet potato

METHOD

I sauteed onions, then added lentils, tomatoes, turmeric, curry, 1/2c water, boullion, salt and pepper cooked for 10 mintutes.  I ate the lentil mixture on top of a sweet potato, it was so delicious!!!

Cook rice while preparing lentils. Heat oil in a medium saucepan. Cook onions until soft, about 3-4 minutes, add garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes. Add tomato and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add curry powder, turmeric and chili powder and mix. Add lentils and enough water to cover lentils by ½ inch. Cook for 5-8 minutes until lentils are soft. Add spinach and coconut milk and simmer another 1-2 minutes until spinach is wilted. Season with salt and pepper and add more to taste. Serve over brown rice.

BABYFOOD OPTION:

When I was a child, I spent many summers in my parents' native country of Sri Lanka, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. I have watched my cousins and family friends feeding babies and noticed that people generally do not buy baby food in Sri Lanka. Instead, babies are offered an array foods like nutritious meat and vegetable curries, spiced mildly, with rice (which is usually started at about one year of life). One common early finger food is rice mixed with lentils or other meats and vegetables and shaped into small sticky balls. These little rice balls can be easily fed to babies by hand or given to babies to feed themselves. (see picture and recipe below for “Rice Balls with Lentils”). Take about a cup of cooked brown rice. Add a teaspoon of the lentil spinach mixture and mix with your hand. Add more lentils by the teaspoon and keep mashing until you can form the mixture into ¾ inch balls. This can make a great school lunch for slightly older kids, too!

Best Bites Tandoori Chicken

Tandoori, Turmeric rice and Flatbread

IT's from Lauren Hedin's our best bites cook book.

2 c plain/greek yogurt
3 T lemon juice (or a juice from 1 lemon)
1t garlic powder
1 chopped onion
1/2c oil
3 t salt
1/2t black pepper
2T paprika
1T cumin and ginger
1T turmeric
1t red pepper or splash of cayenne
Chicken drumsticks and/or thighs

This can be assembled a few days b4 and let the raw chicken sit in the liquid mixture to marinade.
I did make extra of the sauce and froze it so I could have it for dinner a couple weeks down the road.

Can grill the chicken or bake in oven 350 for 20 min, then slather more marinade on, bake 10 more min slather more marinade, 10 more min bake and spray with oil, increase oven to 450 bake 10 more min until you get some nice charred spots.

Serve with Turmeric Rice

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 cup diced onion
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup Jasmine rice
kosher salt

Heat medium-sized pot with lid on stove top.  Add oil and onion and cook until onion is tender, about 3 minutes.  Add turmeric and curry powder and stir to heat and distribute for 15-30 seconds.  Add broth and bring to a boil, add rice.  Reduce heat to a simmer.  Cover pot and cook for 20 minutes, covered the entire time.  Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and add salt to taste before serving.  

Potato, Carrot, Pea Curry

1 onion
5 small potatoes
5 small carrots
1 1/2c frozen peas add to last 5min of cooking
1c garbonzo beans
5-7 garlic cloves
2t tumeric
1/2t mustard seeds (or just just plain liquid mustard)
1/2t garam masala
1/2t ginger
1 t curry powder
Mayo to make the sauce creamier or could use any type of nut butter
salt and pepper


1. saute onion (15min)
2. dice potatoes and boil in separate pot
3. slice carrots and saute with onion after onion is brown, add garlic after carrots are soft, add potatoes after they are soft.
4. add seasonings and garbonzo beans.  I needed to add some (1-2c) of the potato water, I like to have some extra sauce with my curry.
5. Add frozen peas

From Navene and Anu from India

Serve with rice and if you wana do more work.  Make naan

PS next time I will chop the potatoes up smaller

(freeze extra for quick dinners)

Pulau

From Jen Coon

Oil
mustard, cumin, anise seeds
chopped onion
garlic
ginger
almonds or cashews
1/2c corn, peas, and/or carrots
cadamom pods
curry leaves
turmeric
chili powder
garam masala
salt

This is delicious flavored rice. It works well in a pressure cooker if you have one, reduces the cooking time quite a bit. For this recipe, I’ll describe the amounts as if you were making three cups dry rice)

• Heat a small amount of oil in a large saucepan on med heat (5-6). Add a little bit of mustard seed, cumin seed, and one or two anise seeds. Fry until seeds begin to pop.
• Add one small finely chopped onion, several crushed cloves of garlic, and two tsp. fine...ly grated ginger.
• Add a small handful of whole nuts, almonds and/or cashews are best. Add around a half cup mixture of corn/peas/carrots.
• Add 2-3 cardamom pods (crush slightly), 2-3 curry leaves, ¼ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp chili powder or more, 2 tsp coriander powder, 1 ½ tsp garam masala, 1 tsp salt.
• Rinse the rice and add it to the mixture. Stir until the rice is mixed in and hot.
• Add water. For regular cooking, double the amount of water for the amount of rice. In a pressure cooker you need slightly less water, maybe one and a half times.
• Cook as you would plain rice. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Cook 20 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is soft. Remove from heat, let sit a few minutes, then stir. In a pressure cooker, once full pressure has been reached, it only needs 5-7 min.
• Taste, add salt as needed.
• To serve, garnish with chopped cilantro (fresh coriander).

Black-Eyed Peas in a Spicy Goan Curry

Black-Eyed Peas in a Spicy Goan Curry

Adapted from Ruta Kahate via SFGate.com, 6/8/07
Serves 4 to 6
1 cup dried black-eyed peas or two 15-ounce cans, drained
2 tablespoons, canola oil
1 small yellow onion, minced (about 1 cup)
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, finely ground
1/2 teaspoon finely grated garlic (about 1 large clove)
1/2 teaspoon finely grated ginger (about a 1-inch piece)
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (I always start with the half the suggested cayenne, and then decide if it needs more. Mine didn’t.)
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, finely ground
1/4 cup minced tomato (1 small tomato)
2 cups (or 1 cup if using canned peas) hot water
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste if using canned peas
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup canned coconut milk
2 tablespoons minced cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
If using dried black-eyed peas, rinse and soak them in enough water to cover for 6 to 8 hours. Drain.
In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-low heat and saute the onion until it turns dark brown, about 8 minutes. Add the coriander, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cayenne and cumin, and stir for 2 minutes. Add the tomato and stir over low heat until it disintegrates.
Add the peas and mix well. Pour in the hot water, if using, add the salt and sugar, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low, cover, and simmer until the peas are cooked through, about 20 minutes. If using canned peas, simmer for only 10 minutes (it is essential to simmer the canned peas, too, so that all the flavors blend better). Stir in the coconut milk and simmer uncovered for another 8 to 10 minutes, again allowing the flavors to come together.
Add the cilantro and lemon juice, simmer for 1 minute more, and remove from heat. Serve hot.

Goes well with Everyday Yellow Dal and Cabbage Salad

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2007/06/and-then-i-moved-into-the-refrigerator/

Coconut Vegetable Curry

Coconut Vegetable Curry

1 onion chopped and sauteed
2-3 garlic cloves, sautéed

4 carrots sliced, cook for 10 min with the sautéed above ingredients
Any type of cooked beans (I did a mixture of black, white and black eye peas)
1 can of coconut milk
1 T thai kitchen- red curry paste
1/2-1t garam masala (not necessary)
salt and pepper

Warm it all up and serve with rice, bread, and a salad.  Great for leftovers.  Could even make extra to freeze.