It didn’t seem too much to ask. I wanted a coconut chicken curry that is fast, delicious and not loaded with fat. Turned out to be easier than I expected.
Let’s start with the sauce. The key is to make it rich and flavorful without resorting to the usual culprit - full-fat coconut milk.
My solution was to start with a small amount of light coconut milk, but then doctor it up. Pureeing into it a jar of roasted red peppers and a small onion was just the trick. This provided the sauce withbody, as well as sweet and savory flavors. A hefty dose of curry powder and some lemon grass added during cooking rounded it all out.
To cook, all I did was bring my sauce to a simmer in a large saute pan, then add my chicken. I tasted it as it cooked and felt it was missing something… sweet. But I wanted to avoid the obvious - sugar, honey, etc. - if I could. So I added grated carrots. Perfect! More vegetables and just the right amount of natural sweetness.
Speedy and Light Chicken Curry 1 (12-ounce) jar roasted red
peppers, drained 1 small yellow onion, chopped 1 cup chicken broth ½ cup light coconut milk 2 teaspoons curry powder 3 (3-inch) pieces fresh lemon
grass 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas,
drained 1 cup grated carrots 1 ¾ pounds boneless, skinless
chicken thighs or breasts
In a blender or food processor, combine the red peppers, onion, broth, coconut milk and curry powder. Process or puree until completelysmooth.
Pour the sauce into a large, deep saute pan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer. Use a rolling pin or meat mallet to lightly crush the lemon grass, then add to the sauce. Stir in the chickpeas and carrots. Nestle the chicken thighs into the sauce, being sure the tops are covered.
Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
Remove and discard the lemon grass. Serve the chicken with chickpeas, carrots and sauce spooned over it.
Makes 6 servings.
Food, Pages 29 on 02/13/2013