Erin’s Easy Eats

Whoo, alliteration!  That’s the English teacher/major/dork coming out in me.  Tonight’s photo is brought to you by my new camera, which I love and will soon run away with.  This recipe is adapted from a fellow food blogger’s recipe at What’s For Lunch Honey? Next time, I will probably use less coconut milk, and more spices (all of them, especially the basil.)  The original recipe called for tomatoes, as well, which honestly, I forgot to include, but seemed like they would provide a weird texture (I’m not such a huge fan of warm, whole tomatoes in anything other than spaghetti sauce, I don’t think.)  I froze the remainder of the coconut milk (does that stuff even freeze?) and when I make it again, I’ll let you know how it turns out.

• 1 lb boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 c. cashews
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin (or 1/2 tsp cumin seeds)
• 1 can whole new potatoes (you could of course, use fresh ones and cook them beforehand, but this is supposed to be “easy” cooking, even though it never is.  That’s just a catchy, alliterative title, too.)
• 2 Tbs tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 1/4 c. coconut milk
• 1/2 – 1 c. peas (depending on how much you like peas)
• handful of chopped basil

Soak your cashews in some warm water for about 10 minutes, then rinse them off and chop them up.  Cook chicken with a sprinkle of salt and pepper until no longer pink.  Remove from pan and keep warm.  Add a little bit of oil, the cumin, and cashews.  Allow nuts to roast 3-4 minutes.  Add potatoes, 1/2 c. of water, and tomato paste, and let simmer 5 minutes.  Add remaining spices and continue cooking 3 minutes.  Add back chicken, add coconut milk, peas, and salt and pepper to taste.  Let cook until sauce begins to thicken and peas are warmed through.  Stir in chopped basil, and serve over rice.  (I used jasmine, because I was feeling fancy.)

Tags: chicken, coconut milk, curry, recipes