No Butter Chicken

Guess what I came home to last night?

Andrew vacuuming the living room.

Hot, right?

Absolutely.

If you’ve seen this, you know what I’m talking about. [Thanks, Debbie!]

So last night I tried a curry of sorts. Of the Indian variety, not the Thai like we’re used to. It was really good once we knew what we were getting into. I always forget that Indian curries have a tendency to be sweeter. I’m not opposed to it in the slightest, but it’s just a bit surprising when you’re not expecting it. It’s a little bit labor intensive, too. I attempted to shred the onion in my food processor, but honestly, I wish I’d have just diced it up really small. The onion made way more of a mess than I really wanted to deal with, and it just cooks down in the end and creates a sweet base.

I made couscous and topped it with fresh baby spinach before ladling the chicken-y goodness on top.

And then I made cake. But that’s for later. Assuming there is actually still cake when I get home from work.

Inspiration: Kayotic Kitchen

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts [or one huge one], thawed and chopped into pieces
• 1 piece of fresh ginger, thumb sized, grated
• 2 small red onions [or one large], shredded or minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 teaspoons chili flake [or to taste]
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1/2 cup yogurt [soy!]
• 3/4 cup water
• salt and pepper
• oil for your pan [I used olive]

Preparation

1. Heat a large pan [or a wok!] on high heat and cook the onion and ginger for a few minutes until fragrant.
2. Add the cumin, chili flakes, curry, turmeric, and salt.
3. Once the onion is soft, add the tomato paste.
4. Now it should smell awesome. Add your chicken.
5. Coat the chicken with the onion mixture and top with pepper.
6. Allow to cook 5-7 minutes.
7. Add the sugar and the yogurt.
8. Mix thoroughly coating everything with the yogurt.
9. Add the water and bring it to a boil.
10. Allow the sauce to cook down to desired consistency. Mine took about 8-10 minutes.
11. Serve with couscous, rice, spinach, or whatever your heart desires.