Recipe for Shrimp and Veggie Curry

Here's a recipe for a tasty, quick meal.  I always keep some frozen shrimp in the freezer.  They can be defrosted quickly in a bowl of room temperature water.  Of course, if you have access to freshly caught shrimp, use those. This quick to prepare curry is a little crunchy, a little creamy, with lots of intense flavor, but mild heat.  You can up the heat factor if you're a "hottie".  
Other than making the rice, if serving with the curry, this can be on the table in about 20 minutes. 


Yield: 4 servings
Time: 20 minutes (plus rice)
Ingredients:

• ½ cup diced red bell pepper
• ½ cup diced onion
• 1 cup diced fresh tomatoes (could use canned)
• 1 TBSP canola oil
• 2 TBSP mild curry paste (or 3-4 TBSP curry powder)
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 20 medium frozen shrimp, peeled, deveined, (defrosted in room temp water rinse or overnight in fridge)
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 2 TBSP coarsely shredded basil plus handful finely diced for serving
• Juice from ½ a lime plus wedges for serving
• Salt and pepper if needed
• Naan or rice for serving

Method:

• Heat the oil over medium to medium high heat.
• Add diced pepper, onion, and curry paste (or powder).
• Cook until veggies are softening, about 5 minutes (turn heat down if browning too much).
• Add tomatoes, shredded basil, and coconut milk.  Turn heat down to simmer for 10 minutes.
• Turn heat up to medium.  Add shrimp and peas and cook just until shrimp turn from translucent to pink, 5 minutes or less.
• Stir in lime juice and taste.  Add salt/pepper if needed (I didn't but it depends on your curry paste/powder and your taste buds).
• Serve over rice or with naan, garnished with lime wedge and diced basil.

I served this with brown basmati rice that I made earlier in the day and kept warm in the rice cooker. Enjoy!

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Recipe for Curried Chicken and Rice Casserole

We have a great Indian restaurant on Maui and enjoy getting together with a bunch of friends to go stuff ourselves on curries, naan, tandoori meat, lentil dishes.....   If it's just the two of us craving Indian flavors, I'll throw together an easy curry.  This recipe is an adaptation of a wild rice and chicken casserole I used to make when my kids were small.
It had a lot of sour cream, cream of mushroom soup, cheese...that kind of casserole! For this meal, I used coconut milk, fire roasted tomatoes, Indian spices, and raisins (probably would be good with some sauteed onion-next time!).  This was very satisfying and delicious.

Time: about an hour (I cooked the rice and chicken ahead of time, so for just combining and baking-25 minutes)
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 large chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
• 1 TBSP turmeric
• water (or broth/stock)
• 1 cup mixed rice (wild, brown, black mix or any wild rice mix) cooked according to package
• 1 14.5 oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 TBSP garam masala
• 1 1/2 TBSP curry powder
• Few shakes crushed red peppers (more if you like it really spicy hot)
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Cook rice mixture according to package directions (mine said 50 minutes).
• Cook chicken in turmeric and water (or broth/stock) until done, about 12 minutes.  Let cool then chop/shred.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Mix chicken, rice, tomatoes, coconut milk, spices and raisins together.  Taste and add salt if needed.
• Spray casserole dish and pour mixture in.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until well heated through.

Serve with a veggie (ooh, next time I think I'll stir in some English peas) and enjoy!

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Recipe for Thai Chicken Enchiladas

Like you probably do, I keep a folder of recipes to try.  Sometimes I get to them within the month, sometimes never, and sometimes like this recipe, I make it the next day!


I saw this recipe on one of the blogs I read, How Sweet It Is, which is not a blog full of dessert recipes (the name is in reference to the James Taylor song).  I thought "what a great idea!" and pinned in on Pinterest and added the ingredients to the grocery list for that afternoon.  The pin got repinned alot that day, which just confirmed to me that it was an interesting recipe.  Thanks Jessica!

Yield: 8 enchiladas (4-6 servings depending how hungry you are)
Time: 60 minutes


Ingredients:

• 8 flour tortillas
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 tsp Thai curry seasoning (I used Baron's*)
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 cup sweet onion, chopped
• 1/3 cup finely chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup finely chopped cabbage
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 1/3 cup finely chopped peanuts and more for garnish
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro and more for garnish
• 2 1/2 cups light coconut milk
• 1/2 cup sweet chili sauce, divided (adjust up if you tolerate "heat" and like things more spicy)
• Cooking spray

 *contains sea salt, fenugreek, cardamom, coriander, cloves, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, red pepper, cumin, turmeric, yeast and onion

Method:

• Poach chicken breasts in water and 2 tsp Thai curry seasoning for 20 minutes.
• When chicken is cooked and cooled, slice finely.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat oil over medium heat and add the cabbage, carrots, garlic, remainder of curry seasoning, salt and pepper.  Cook gently until softened, about 8-10 minutes.
• Add green onion, peanuts, chicken, 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce, and 1 cup of coconut milk.  Cook until bubbling, 1-2 minutes.
• Stir in cilantro.
• While mixture is heating, mix together remaining sweet chili sauce and coconut milk.
• Spray casserole dish with cooking spray and spread 1/4 cup of milk/chili sauce mixture over the bottom.
• Using about 3/4 of the chicken mixture, fill each tortilla and roll up.  Place in casserole dish, seam side down.
• Sprinkle remaining chicken mixture over the top of the rolled tortillas and then pour remaining milk/chili sauce mixture over the top.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbling.
• Top with additional chopped peanuts and cilantro.

AMAZING!  Really delicious and different.  Got the hubby thumbs up too.

Are you cooking any dishes with Thai influenced flavors?

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Adapted slightly from How Sweet it Is

Recipe for Thai Shrimp and Veggie Curry

The photo doesn't do this meal justice!  I probably should have worked on the composition a bit more and taken a few other shots but after tasting the curry sauce, I was in a hurry to eat!  So, don't hold the poor quality photo against this recipe-it's a keeper.

Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cut asparagus spears, 1 inch pieces
• 2 cups spinach leaves
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 TBSP fish sauce
• 2 TBSP fresh lime juice
• 24 medium shrimp, cleaned, shelled, tails removed and deveined
• 3 TBSP Thai red curry paste
• Canola oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Fresh mint and lime slices for garnish

Method: 

• Saute onion in oil over medium heat until soft, about 10 minutes.  Add garlic and cook 1 more minute over medium high heat.
• Add curry paste.
• Add coconut milk, fish sauce, and lime juice.
• Bring to boil.  Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.
• Turn down heat to medium, add asparagus and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add spinach and shrimp; simmer until shrimp turns pink and spinach wilts, about 3 minutes.
• Serve over rice, garnished with chopped mint and lime slices.

This would be good with chicken or beef too.  And seriously, it's "spoon up the left over sauce and slurp it" kind of good!

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Recipe inspiration  

Recipe for Curried Chicken with Peanuts

As I recently mentioned, we've been eating a fair number of Asian themed meals lately.  They are quick to put together-usually from stuff on hand.  They are also tasty and healthy.  So I find it's hard to go wrong!  Take this recipe for example. Tender chicken, salty peanuts, a subtle curry/coconut milk background and a little pop from the green peas stirred in at the end.  Simple and pretty perfect!

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 45 minutes


Ingredients:

• 2 TBSP canola oil
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
• 2 TBSP fresh ginger, grated
• 1 TBSP curry powder (or more to taste)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup light coconut milk
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1 1/2 cups frozen green peas, thawed
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup peanut halves
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• Salt and pepper 

Method:

• Heat oil over medium-high and when hot, add chicken that has been well seasoned with salt and pepper.
• Brown chicken for about 2-3 minutes then remove from pan.
• Add ginger and curry powder and cook for 30 seconds.
• Add broth, rice, and raisins and bring to a boil.
• Add chicken back to pan and reduce heat to medium/medium low, cover pan and cook until rice is tender about 20 minutes.
• Stir in the coconut milk, peas and green onions; let sit covered, off the heat for 5 minutes.
• Stir in the cilantro and peanuts and serve.

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Adapted from Williams Sonoma

Recipe for Chicken Curry

I've been cooking a fair number of Asian themed meals: stir fries, curries etc. This recipe is based on one that a group of us used to make on the weekends in the dorm back in the 70's.  We were poor and had very little in the way of utensils.  We cooked on an illegal hot plate and used inexpensive canned chicken.  We sure didn't have access or means to acquire fresh herbs or coconut milk. And the only seasoning we had was Martha's curry powder her family sent her from India.   But we turned out a mean chicken curry.  The whole floor of the dorm smelled lovely and we ate well! So here's to the girls on the 12th floor!

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 30 minutes


Ingredients:

• 2 cups finely chopped potato (1/2x1/2 inch)
• 1 ½ cup chopped onion (similar size to potato)
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 2 TBSP curry powder (more if desired)
• 1 TBSP Garam masala
• ½ TBSP ground cardamom
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup light coconut milk
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut into small pieces (similar size to potato)
• 2 cups frozen green peas, defrosted
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro plus more for garnish
• 1 cup golden raisins
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

• Heat oil over medium heat.
• Add spices and stir constantly while cooking for 45 seconds.
• Add potatoes, onions, water, and coconut milk and cook for 15 minutes. 
• Add chicken that has been seasoned with salt and pepper (and more water/coconut milk if needed-you do want a moist curry).  
• Cook 10 more minutes or until chicken no longer pink and potatoes are soft.
• Stir in peas, cilantro, raisins and cook 2 additional minutes.
• Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed.
• Serve garnished with cilantro, with rice or naan.

The fragrant cooking smells will drive you crazy until the dish is finished and you can sit down and eat.   What recipes do you cook that bring back memories of days gone by?

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Recipe for Lamb and Sweet Potato Curry

According to Wikipedia, curry is a dish of meat and vegetables, cooked in an Indian style spicy sauce and served with rice.  And while not what I think of when I think "curry", other than the rice, this full-of-flavor dish meets the definition.  I adapted this dish from Meena's blog "Hooked on Heat", a great spot for Indian recipes that anyone can tackle.  As you know if you've been reading ELEB for a while, I'm trying to cook more Indian recipes.  This one is a winner!

You have to be somewhat committed to cooking Indian flavored food to tackle this recipe.  It has quite a few spice ingredients.  As it turned out, I had all of them in my cupboard and I would encourage you to suck it up go ahead and stock your spice shelf with these flavorful spices. You'll be all ready to whip together a batch of chai concentrate or another Indian dish.  And trust me, when you taste this one, you'll be glad you did. In addition to a great meal, your kitchen will smell amazing.

Whole spices

Recipe for Lamb and Sweet Potato Curry

Yield: 4 servings

Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients: 

• 2 TBSP canola oil


• 5 whole cloves


• 5 whole cardamom pods


• 1 cinnamon stick


• 1 tsp cumin seeds


• 1 large onion, sliced


• 1/2 tsp chili powder


• 1 TBSP coriander powder


• 1 tsp roasted cumin powder


• 1/2 tsp garam masala powder


• 1 TBSP ginger-garlic sauce


• 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped, about 2 cups


• 1 lb ground lamb


• 1 large sweet potato, cubed, about 3 cups


• 1 cup water


• 4 cups baby spinach, washed and dried


• salt, to taste

Method:

• Sauté cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, and cumin seeds with onions in hot oil over medium high heat until lightly browned.


• Add in tomatoes, ginger-garlic sauce and remaining spices, and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes until tomatoes soften and begin to break down.


• Crumble in lamb and cook until most of pink is gone, about 5 minutes.


• Add in sweet potatoes and cook covered for 20 minutes over medium-low heat until potatoes are cooked through.


• Stir in spinach and cook uncovered until wilted, about 3-4 minutes


• Taste and season with salt as needed.

Ready to add tomatoes

Ready to add potatoes

Ready to add spinach

I wasn't sure whether to leave the cloves and cardamom pods in the finished dish.  I decided to fish them out, not that it would have been bad to eat one but...


So, thanks to Meena for an inspiring recipe.  I hope you'll give it a try.

What ethnic dishes are you cooking these days?


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