Quick and Easy Naan Bread

 Tonight we had curry for dinner, and with about 15 minutes left before it was done, I decided I should make some naan bread to go with it.  Luckily for me, I found a super quick and easy recipe that took about 15 minutes to make, from start to finish.  There are a lot of recipes out there for naan, most of which have yeast and require a rise, but this one didn't call for yeast and we thought it was still really tasty and added a lot to our meal!  So, if you are in a hurry and forget to plan ahead, this naan will work in a pinch!

Quick and Easy Naan Bread

adapted slightly from www.veggiedesserts.com

1 1/2 c. flour

1 c. sour cream (it called for plain yogurt but I didn't have any)

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

Mix all the ingredients together in a medium bowl.  You may need to use your hands to get it to mix well.  I ended up kneading mine just a bit to get it to incorporate all together.  Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces.  On a floured surface, roll each piece into a 6 inch circle.  Fry it on an ungreased griddle or frying pan for a couple of minutes on each side, until it begins to get golden bubbles.  When it is cooked through, spread melted butter and garlic on each side and serve it warm.

Massaman Curry

My hubby has been asking me to make Massaman Curry for a while now, and I could never get around to it.  I finally made it happen this week and I'm so glad that I did!  This was a delicious, easy, curry recipe, and it was just enough of a change from our other favorite curry recipes, that it was refreshing.

Massaman Curry
adapted from: allrecipes.com

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 Tbsp. curry paste (mine was red)
1/4-1/2 tsp. ground ginger 
2 chicken breasts, cubed
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 of 1/3 c. of chunky peanut butter (did that make sense?)
2 peeled, cubed potatoes
2 peeled, sliced carrots
1/2  of an onion, sliced
1 can of coconut milk
1 Tbsp. lime juice

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Stir in the curry paste and ginger and cook it for 2 minutes.  Add the chicken breast cubes and cook for about 3 minutes.  Stir in the brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, peanut butter, potatoes, carrots, onions and coconut milk.  Bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium low.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the veggies are tender.  Add the lime juice and cook it for 5 more minutes.  Serve it over rice or rice noodles.

Sweet Chicken Curry

I was looking for a new curry recipe tonight and the ones that sounded good were all sweet curries. I must be needing sugar in my system (always). I combined what sounded good in a couple of them and ended up with a sweet, mild, yellow curry that tasted great. We love curry around our house. Even my children will eat curry. When we were still in school we had a neighbor from Nepal and we still love to reminisce about her yummy food and the way they ate the food with their hands. Tonight Ryan ate this in the true Nepalese style.

Sweet Chicken Curry

by Carolyn

2 Tbsp butter

1 can pineapple tidbits, drained

1 onion chopped

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

3 Tbsp. curry powder

4 Tbsp. flour

3 chicken breasts

14 oz. can of chicken broth

1 can of coconut milk

2 Tbsp. sugar

4 potatoes

salt and pepper to taste

Cut your chicken breasts into strips and your potatoes into chunks and set them aside (separately). In a large skillet, melt the butter and saute the onion, garlic and pineapple over medium high heat. I added my garlic the last couple of minutes because I am always burning my garlic. And that stinks. Literally. Add your curry powder and cook it for one minute. Then add your flour and cook that for one minute. Throw the chicken in (not literally) and cook it with the curry mixture until no pink remains. Stir in the chicken broth and coconut milk until it is well combined. Add the sugar, salt and pepper and potatoes and let it simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Serve it over rice.

This picture may be confusing because, as you can see, there are apple chunks in it. One of the recipes that I adapted this from called for apples, which I used, and one called for pineapple, which I also used. The apple gave no flavor at all, but the pineapple was great, so I'm saving all of you the trouble of cutting up the apple and instead I am putting pineapple only in the recipe. Your welcome.

Coconut Curried Chicken

James and I have always been big fans of Curry and I have finally found a recipe that I absolutely love. I adapted it from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 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 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
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 Large Carrots, thickly sliced
• 3 medium potatoes, chunked

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. Add potatoes and carrots, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.

Something that I have learned (that may be somewhat common knowledge but was news to me) is that you need to cook the curry in the oil on its own for several minutes to let the flavors come out.

Enjoy!

Honey Chicken Curry With Thai Coconut Rice

I made this tonight for dinner, and it may be my new favorite curry recipe! It was so quick and easy and very lummy (as Ryan says). I'm still amazed at how easy and yummy it was! I got the recipe from my friend Michele's blog (the link is above) and she also had a recipe for Thai Coconut Rice, which I made to go along with it. I am always a fan of coconut and curry and these two recipes together were awesome. I did the rice in my rice cooker and changed it a little from Michele's, so if you don't have a rice cooker or especially love cilantro (Jen) then follow her recipe instead of mine. Cooking it in the rice cooker took a double cook time, with a few stirs in the middle, rather than just turning it on and letting it cook, like I normally would. The coconut milk made it very creamy and thicker than usual.

Honey Chicken Curry
1/3 c. butter
1/3 c. honey
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. curry powder
2 Tbsp. dijon mustard
2 chicken breasts, cut in half (I cut mine in half, and in half again)

Melt butter and add honey, salt, curry and mustard and stir until well combined. Place chicken in baking dish and pour mixture over the top. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, basting every 10 minutes (I didn't need to do this because I used a square dish and the sauce covered my chicken almost completely).

Thai Coconut Rice
2 c. rice
2 c. coconut milk
1 3/4 c. water
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. dry shredded coconut
1 bunch cilantro
1/4 c. coconut

Cook in rice cooker until liquid is mostly absorbed. Stir occasionally if necessary because the milk settles at the top and the bottom may burn. While your rice is cooking, put a small amount of oil in a frying pan and lightly toast your 1/4 c. coconut over medium heat. Chop up your cilantro. When you serve the rice, serve the toasted coconut and cilantro on top.

Adapted from: http://www.sweetluvininthekitchen.blogspot.com/

*Update: I made this with the cilantro and toasted coconut on the top and I thought it added SO much! So I have added that into this recipe so you can enjoy it that way too!