Curried Chicken & Veg Casserole

[Kate]

I made this last night, and it's so good. Makes the chicken really tender and juicy.

In a big dutch oven, combine:

- small nubble of ginger, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 onion, sliced thin

You could sautee this with cooking spray if you wanted, But I was lazy last night and didn't, and it turned out just fine. If you're taking the time to sautee this then you would want to add the spices once everything is sauteed and cook for a little longer.

Add:

- 1/2-1c plain 1% yogurt
- 1/2 canned, chopped tomatoes
- 1T curry powder
- 1T garam masala
- 1 tsp each salt and pepper
- juice of 1/2 lemon

Slice thin 3 chicken breasts thinly, mix in with the sauce and let marinate for about 1/2 hour or so.

Add:

- veggies of choice (I did cabbage and cauliflower)

Bake in oven at 375F for about 30-45 minutes, until chicken is totally cooked through and the mixture is bubbling.

To serve, fish out the chicken and measure your appropriate amount. Serve with the veggies over chopped spinach, and sprinkle a little of the sauce over the top to wilt the spinach. If you're allowed rice, you're lucky. Eat that with it too.

Sprinkle fresh chopped mint and basil over top.

The yogurt breaks down the chicken and makes it very tender while adding little to no nutritional value to the chicken (if you don't use any of the sauce) and it's very flavourful and delicious.

[Brandy]

Can I sub any other spice for garam masala? Don't have any. But I have a cupboard full of other things.

I don't even know WTH garam masala is.:dope:

[SusanF]

This would probably work in a crockpot, too. It sounds :yum: !

[SusanF]

Can I sub any other spice for garam masala? Don't have any. But I have a cupboard full of other things.

I don't even know WTH garam masala is.:dope:

Brandy, Garam Masala is a blend of spices, so you could probably substitute. Here is what wikipedia says:

Garam masala is a blend of ground spices common in the Indian and Pakistani cuisine, whose literal meaning is 'hot (or warm) spice'. There are many variants: most traditional mixes use just cinnamon, roasted cumin, cloves, nutmeg (and/or mace) and green cardamom seed or black cardamom pods. Many commercial mixtures may include more of other less expensive spices and may contain dried red chili peppers, dried garlic, ginger powder, sesame, mustard seeds, turmeric, coriander, bay leaves, cumin, and fennel. While commercial garam masala preparations can be bought ready ground, it does not keep well, and soon loses its aroma. Whole spices, which keep fresh much longer, can be ground when needed using a mortar and pestle or electric coffee grinder.
Garam masala can be used during cooking, but unlike many spices, it is often added at the end of cooking, so that the full aroma is not lost. Garam masala is not "hot" in the sense that chilis are, but is fairly pungent.

[Kate]

If you don't have the Garam Masala, I would just add a couple of pinches of cinnamon, a pinch of cardamom if you have it and then a little extra curry powder. Or you could leave it out fully - I just like the slightly sweet taste.

SusanF, it is very :yum: I wish I had a crockpot - you're right, this would be great in there.

[SusanF]

I'll have to try this soon. I have the curry powder and the garam masala. I think if I do it in the crockpot, I'll add the sour cream and garam masala at the end of cooking.

ETA: Oops, yogurt, not sour cream.

[Brandy]

Thanks girls!! I looked it up and used a combo of cumin/pepper/salt/red pepper flakes. :shrug:

I made it in the crock pot with broccoli. Turned out very good. My broccoli got a little mushy, but it tastes great. I also made my brown rice w/ curry/Splenda/chix boullin/diced tomatoes.
Tasted GREAT w/ all mixed together w/ an extra Splenda and a little sour cream.:yum:

[SusanF]

:yum: sounds great!