I am happy to report that is once again time for a Secret Recipe Club Reveal. I know I’ve expressed my love for this cooking club from its very inception. I am getting to know so many great blogs and it also gets me to expand my horizons and try new things. I almost always make the recipe with a few tweaks, things that might suit my own or my family’s taste a little better. And sometimes I do a full recipe overhaul, to make a low carb, gluten free version. But I try to stay true to the spirit of the recipe, no matter what, and replicate the overall dish as best I can. With everything I’ve got going on right now, it can feel like a bit of a burden to do this monthly cooking club. But every single month, I find I’ve enjoyed the process and that I am glad I did it. Now that’s the sign of a great cooking club.
This month I was assigned Deelicious Sweets. I have know Dee’s blog for a while now, through Foodbuzz, and I’ve often thought she does a lovely job and posts great recipes. I know she’s also a hard core yoga instructor. She can twist her body into such crazy positions that just looking at her makes this inflexible, needs-to-do-more-stretching runner wince in pain! Seriously, people, go check out her blog…for the recipes AND the pretzel-like positions. You’ll be glad you did.
It really didn’t take me long to settle on a recipe to make from her blog. I had some chicken breast in the fridge and hadn’t decided what to make with it for dinner. A quick glance at her recipe index and chicken tikka masala jumped right out at me. I love Indian cuisine, with its intense, aromatic flavours, and I needed just a few quick items from the grocery store to make this recipe. I was fairly certain it wouldn’t go over too well with my kids, so I didn’t even bother to try them on it. They ate some plain chicken and once they were in bed, Mom and Dad had a little chicken tikka masala feast.
The Results: Overall, I was really pleased with this dish. I did change a few little things from Dee’s recipe, including adding a jalapeno to kick up the heat, and browning the chicken a bit before adding the coconut milk. Both my husband and I loved the flavour, it was fantastic. My only “complaint”, if I were to have one, is that it ended up a bit too saucy for me. I don’t eat mine over any rice (obviously), and there was a lot of liquid here. Mind you, it was very flavourful liquid, but there was just a bit too much of it for me. My husband does eat his over rice and he thought there was a bit too much as well. So for my version of the recipe, I have excluded the additional water and I think that will help solve the issue for me next time.
**I don’t think I can claim this one as gluten free, as the curry paste I used does not specifically state that it is GF.
Chicken Tikka Masala
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeeld and minced
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup tikka masala curry paste
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
1 14-oz can coconut milk
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat until shimmering. Add onions and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add jalapeno and ginger and cook until just fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chicken and curry paste and stir well to coat chicken. Cook, stirring frequently, until chicken is almost cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Add tomatoes in their juice and the coconut milk. Bring mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
Sprinkle with chopped cilantro leaves and serve.
Serves 6. Each serving has a total of 11.1 g of carbs and 2.3 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 8.8 g
