Coconut Rice

Just a nice way to make your rice a little sweeter. Penny likes rice, but she LOVES it mixed with coconut milk.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 cup jasmine rice

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the coconut milk and sugar over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer.
2. Stir in the jasmine rice, reduce heat to low, and cook tightly covered for about 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
3. Remove from the heat and fluff rice with a fork; cover, and keep warm.

Okra & Sweet Potato Curry

I like my Indian food sweet, so this is great to accompany Mango Chicken. I liked this one especially in Grenada because most of the ingredients are pretty low cost there when fresh.

Ingredients

• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 green chilis deseeded and finely chopped
• curry leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, ground coriander, garam masala
• 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric, chili powder
• 1 sweet potato
• handful of okra, topped and tailed
• handful of sliced tomatoes
• handful of frozen peas
• 1 tin coconut milk (you can substitute plain yogurt)

Directions

1. Fry the mustard seeds in the oil until they start to pop and crackle.
2. Add the onion, chilis, curry leaves and spices and fry until the onion is soft.
3. Add the sweet potatoes and brown for a couple of minutes.
4. Add the coconut milk and a little water if necessary and simmer until the sweet potato is cooked. About ten minutes after adding the sweet potato, add the tomato, peas and okra.
5. Continue to simmer and season before serving.

Borrowed from Portobello Kitchen.

Mango Chicken

Julie's blog about mangoes reminded me of a recipe I did recently. Really tasty and ingredients are cheap if mangoes are in season. I like making this with some coconut rice and okra & sweet potato curry.

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp (or more) of vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped (1 1/2 to 2 cups)
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsp fresh minced ginger
• 2 Tbsp yellow curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 mangos, peeled and diced
  
• 2 Tbsp cider vinegar or white vinegar
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/4 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/3 cup golden raisins (aka sultanas)
  
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (can substitute all or partially with coconut milk or plain yogurt)
• Salt and pepper
• Cilantro for garnish

Directions

1 Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the red bell pepper and another tablespoon of oil, cook for a couple more minutes. Add the curry powder and cumin, cook for a few more minutes. The spices will absorb some of the oil, so if anything begins to stick too much to the bottom of the pan, add a little more oil to the pan. Add the ginger and garlic, cook for one minute more.

2 Add the vinegar, water, and a 1/2 of the chopped mango to the pan. Increase the heat and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a low simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove pan from heat. Scoop the sauce into a blender. Purée the sauce, pulsing until smooth. Return the sauce to the pan.

3 Add chicken pieces and raisins to the pan. Return to a low simmer. Cover the pan and let cook for 8-10 minutes. Chicken should be just cooked through. Use a knife to cut open the largest piece to check.

4 Add remaining mango pieces to the pan. Stir in the cream (or coconut milk or yogurt). Let cook at a very low temperature for another minute or two, uncovered. Do not let this boil or the cream may curdle. Adjust seasonings. If a little too sweet, add a little more vinegar. If not sweet enough, you can add a dash of sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over rice. Garnish with cilantro. Serves 4.

This is borrowed from Simply Recipes.

Indian Inspired Chili

It seems wrong to put two chilis so close, but this one should taste pretty different. At a family gathering a while ago, I tried out this Indian-inspired chili on my Ohio relatives. My family thought it was way too hot, so I tamed it down, blended it with more familiar Cincinnati-style chili ingredients and it was a lot more popular. So this is sweet, but spicy. You can always kick it up a bit by adding more emphasis on the spicy elements.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves minced garlic
  
• 2 medium onions, diced small
  
• 2 inches minced ginger root (or 1 tsp ginger powder)
• 4 cardamom pods (Indian food aisle or spice aisle)
• 2 in cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp chili powder (cayenne if you're braver, paprika if not)
  
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp garam masala (Indian food aisle or spice aisle)
• 1 tsp coriander (Indian food aisle or spice aisle)
• 1 tsp pepper
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 lb ground meat
• 32 oz diced tomato
• 32 oz kidney beans, rinsed and drained
  
• 32 oz tomato puree
• 1/2 c brown sugar

Optional:

• pasta or rice as a base
• shredded cheddar (to top)
• diced sweet onion (to top)

Directions

1. Warm the oil in a large pot. Then sautee the first five non-powder spices. Stir them occasionally until the onions look clear.
2. Stir in all the powdered spices so the onions are nicely coated and cook for another minute or two.
3. Stir in the ground meat and brown it with the spices.
   
4. Once the meat is thoroughly browned, add in the tomatoes, beans and brown sugar. I ditch the bean fluids and keep the tomato fluids.
   
5. Simmer your chili until it is as thick as you like.
6. Especially when you're serving to folks unfamiliar with Indian spices, remove the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods before serving. They won't kill you, but aren't a fun texture when you bite them unawares.
   

Curried Coconut Chicken

• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, or to taste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed, diced tomatoes
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 3 tablespoons sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil and curry powder in a large skillet over medium-high heat for two minutes. Stir in onions and garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add chicken, tossing lightly to coat with curry oil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in center and juices run clear.
3. Pour coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sugar into the pan, and stir to combine. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.
4. * Note, we usually add a bit more oil, sugar and curry.  Enjoy. 

Season chicken pieces with salt and pep