Chicken Curry With Greek Yogurt
Chicken Curry
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Some days call for quick dinners. The day has been long and your body feels like a hunk of inertia and you can't bring yourself to a restaurant. Why not whip out a quick dinner? Quick dinner doesn't have to lack culliary finesse, just because it's quick and easy. It doesn't have to sacrifice nutritional value either as will be the case if you opt to buy a couple of hamburgers at the drive-through. This quick dinner is appetizing, fully decked with nutrition and totally easy to prepare. We're talking chicken curry with greek yogurt--a weird combination of sorts but the result is a totally satisfactory mix of spice and healthy protein-packed meal that's sure to please.
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Health Benefits of Curry
Eating curry has many health perks. Various studies and research reveal that turmeric, a main ingredient of curry has various therapeutic and medicinal properties:
- In a study reported in Arthritis and Rheumatism, prelimary tests done on rats suggest that turmeric may prevent joint swelling associated with arthritis.
- According to studies done by Gregory Cole, a researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, curry contains powerful substances that may protect against Alzeheimer's disease. That may explain why people in India (they consume an average of 100 to 200 milligrams of curry powder every day) have four times less cases of Alzheimer's.
- Epidemiology (population-based) studies in humans linked frequent use of turmeric to lower rates of breast, prostate and colon cancer.
- In a study done on 1,000 older men in Singapore, the result showed that men who eat lots of curry powder did better on a memory test than those who rarely eat the spice.
Although all of these findings are promising, these studies are by no means conclusive.
Since this dinner is meant to be quick and by that I mean no more than half an hour tops, I chose a ready-to-make spice mix. It is more of an Indian-inspired curry, with Pakistani origin, made by Shan. They make a variety of spice mix and I've used a variety of them from seasoning for fish to beef biyani and they are very handy for those "less is more" quick fixes. Curry is a combinaton of spices and the ingredients vary, often informed by cultures and locations since ingredients are often plucked from the local offerings. Curry packs lots of flavors, thanks to the number of spices found in any given type of curry. This particular brand has the following spices:
- Red Chili
- Papain
- Turmeric
- Star Anise
- Coriander
- Cinnamon
- Cumin
- Brown and Green Cardamon
- Carom seeds
- Black Pepper
- Mace
- Fenugreek Seed
- Bay Leaf
- Clove
- Ginger
- Citric Acid
- Garlic
- Salt
See how many spices go into this particular spice mix? Imagine having to gather all these spices just to make dinner? No, I can't--I'm just glad this spice mix exists to make my life easier. For a more traditional type of curry, you can substitute curry powder for the spice mix and use coconut milk instead of yogurt.
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 1 piece or 3 oz chicken breast, thinly sliced
- 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 thumb of ginger, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup spice mix
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt
- 2 cups fresh diced tomatoes
Instructions:
- Coat pan with grapeseed oil or any oil of choice.
- Add chopped garlic, ginger and sliced onion.
- Sautee until fragrant and slightly brown.
- Add sliced chicken, followed by spice mix.
- Mix well and add half a cup of water.
- Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add diced tomatoes and greek yogurt.
- Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until tomatoes are soft and flavors come together.
1 chicken breast, boneless and skinless
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1 chicken breast | |
| Calories | 130 |
| Calories from Fat | 27 |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Fat 3 g | 5% |
| Saturated fat 1 g | 5% |
| Unsaturated fat 2 g | |
| Carbohydrates 0 g | |
| Sugar 0 g | |
| Fiber 0 g | |
| Protein 27 g | 54% |
| Cholesterol 68 mg | 23% |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
What You Can Eat Chicken Curry With?
All ready to enjoy the curry? Here are some suggestions:
- Bismatic Rice
This is the rice of choice for most people from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan since the rice is grown primarily in these regions. Long-grain, fragrant and less sticky than regular rice, bismatic pairs well with all kinds of curry. The brown variety is also available.
- Naan
The gravy of curry makes it ideal for dipping bread. Naan comes to mind and if you frequent Indian restaurants, you're most assuredly served some forms of Naan. If not, you can always order a side of it. It is a delicious flatbread, baked until lightly toasted. They can come plain or in different flavors. Tear off a hunk and dip in the sauce--it's like a slice of indulgence. If you prefer, there is also wheat Naan.
- Paratha
I call it rota prata, the name known in Singapore. For me, the distinction between Naan and prata is the texture. While Naan is more akin to bread, prata is quite flaky and has many layers. It acts like a sponge, soaking up the sauce and that makes it ideal for dipping into curries. You can buy paratha at Trader Joes or any Asian market. They come frozen and all you have to do is heat it up in the skillet, no oil needed.
Enjoy your meal and now, what are you going to do with all that extra time you saved? Dessert, anyone?
