Try curry to spice up meals between holidays
Here we are in the middle of a sort of entertaining no man’s l and b et we e n Labor Day’s end-of-summertime backyard barbecues and the holiday feasts soon to come. Sure, we have Halloween coming up, but most of the parties people throw then seem to revolve around candies, cookies and punch bowls.
But I’m a firm believer in the idea that entertaining your friends and family on a regular basis with delicious, home-cooked meals is one of the best ways possible to enrich your life. Sharing good food (and good beverages along with it) with those you love promotes happy conversation and a general sense of well-being while making some of the best memories possible.
Yes, I know that you may feel daunted to add one more party at this time of year, with so many more just a turn of a calendar page away. That’s why I think it’s important to choose a main dish that is delicious, exciting and satisfying while also being incredibly easy to cook. And it doesn’t hurt if the results also happen to promote good health.
I think my recipe for Chicken Curry With Sweet Potatoes and Dried Fruit fits those guidelines perfectly. It certainly tastes lively and delicious, with its spicy-sweet combination of curry powder (choose a commercial blend that seems the right heat level to suit the tastes of you and your guests), ginger, garlic, chili pepper, brown sugar and tomatoes, not to mention the satisfying earthiness of its big chunks of sweet potato.
Add to that the fact that you don’t even need to brown the chicken first. That not only reduces the time you spend cooking the dish but also cuts down on the fat in the recipe.
Making it even healthier is the absence of any chicken skin, removed before cooking, and the relatively high proportion of vegetables to meat. I also like serve the dish with brown rice instead of the usual white rice, which adds to the earthy satisfaction the dish delivers while also giving you extra fiber. It’s hard to believe that a serving of this curry with rice derives fewer than 20 percent of its calories from fat.
Please let me suggest that, as long as you’re making this curry for a dinner party, you go ahead and prepare a double batch. Once additional portions have cooled, remove the meat from the bones and pack the chicken, sauce, sweet potatoes and dried fruit into individual-serving sealable containers to store in the freezer for healthy, convenient future meals at the touch of a microwave button.
How g re at that you c an go on enjoying the pleasures of your dinner party days after the last guest has said goodnight!
CHICKEN CURRY WITH SWEET POTATOES AND DRIED FRUIT
Serves 4
Ingredients:
3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces, skin
and visible fat removed 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus extra
as needed 3 teaspoons freshly ground black
pepper, plus extra as needed 1 1/2 tablespoons dark-brown sugar 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 medium yellow onions, sliced 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic 1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger 1 tablespoon minced green jalapeno 1 bay leaf 1 tablespoon mild to medium
store-bought curry powder 2 cups diced tomatoes 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1/4 cup seedless raisins 1/4 cup diced dried apricots 3/4 pound orange-fleshed sweet potatoes
or ruby yams, scrubbed and cut
into 1-inch cubes 3 cups organic low-sodium chicken
broth 2 cups steamed brown basmati or
regular brown rice 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh
cilantro leaves, for garnish 1 tablespoon thinly sliced scallions,
for garnish 1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt, for
serving 1/2 cup bottled sweet mango
chutney, for serving (optional)
Directions:
Season the chicken pieces all over with 1/2 tablespoon of the salt and 1/2 teaspoon of the black pepper. Set aside at room temperature.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and saute, stirring constantly, just until they turn glossy, 1 to 2 minutes. Season with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 2 1/2 teaspoons black pepper, and the brown sugar. Continue to saute, stirring, until the onions have turned soft but have not yet browned, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic, ginger, jalapeno, bay leaf and curry powder. Saute, stirring, until the spices turn aromatic, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the seasoned chicken pieces, tomatoes, tomato paste, raisins, apricots, sweet potatoes and 2 cups of the broth. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
As soon as the mixture boils, reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the sweet potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes, adding more broth as necessary to keep the curry moist. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper.
To serve, spoon the rice onto individual serving plates, spoon the chicken, sweet potatoes, fruit and sauce over it, and garnish with cilantro and scallions. Spoon the yogurt and chutney on top, or pass them at the table as condiments.