I almost didn’t post today. You see, I have a bum finger. I would take a picture and post it, but for some that might ruin the mood of food, if you know what I’m sayin’. In short, I fell… wrong (…after being shoved) during my hockey game on Sunday, and my finger is presumably sprained. In addition, my nail bent back really really really far down (if I just gave you the willies, you’re imagining my thumb’s state correctly). Blood was involved and it is not pretty. Oh, and it is painful…very, very painful. For the record: love your thumb. You use it a LOT, believe it or not.
Enough whining, more substance. Substance in the form of a homemade Indian feast!
Sundays are usually my “kitchen day”. I have the time and the desire to always whip up something on Sundays. I usually reserve Sunday for my more labor-intensive meal of the week…which this meal was not. But if you see a Sunday trend with meals, that is probably it: higher difficult/prep.
When Biz posted a Tikka Masala recipe that her readers went on to rave about, it went straight onto the menu. And when I came across a crock pot Indian dish on The Big Red Door, my Indian dinner menu was complete.
Slow Cooked Red Curry from The Big Red Door and The Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker
2 lbs small red potatoes, cubed into 1 inch pieces
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 can (14 oz) light coconut milk
2-3 Tbsp red curry paste
2 Tbsp agave nectar (or brown sugar)
1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 large sweet potato, cubed into 1 inch pieces
2 cups fresh or frozen green peas
salt to taste
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Directions:
Scrub potatoes, cube, and place them in the slow cooker with sliced onion.
In a small bowl, mix coconut milk, red curry paste, agave and soy sauce together and pour over the potatoes (red and sweet). Cover and cook on low for about 5-6 hours, or until the potatoes are slightly tender when pierced with a fork.
Add peas. Continue to cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes longer.
Serve over rice. Garnish with fresh cilantro. Serves 6 (about 1 cup).
Nutrition Information (per serving): 228 calories; 2.3 g. fat; 0 mg. cholesterol; 366 mg. sodium; 48.8 g. carbohydrate; 6.8 g. carbohydrate; 7.7 g. protein
Result: I really loved this recipe! It is so easy, vegetarian, vegan, healthy, and delicious! It can serve as a side dish or an entree. It is colorful and packed with fiber. The coconut flavor isn’t that strong (Mr. P didn’t even taste the coconut — and I didn’t tell him it was there 
), and the heat is just a touch. Enjoy!
Chicken Tikka Masala from My Bizzy Kitchen
1 pound(s) boneless skinless chicken breasts
6 oz nonfat, plain Greek yogurt, divided
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 tsp ground cumin, divided
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp regular butter
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp curry powder
6 item(s) dried red chili peppers (I used 2 dried Ancho peppers)
2 cup(s) 15 oz. canned tomato sauce
1 small jalapeno, cut in half, seeded and chopped
1/4 tsp Sriracha chili sauce
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped (for garnish)
Directions:
Mix 3 ounces of yogurt with the diced chicken, lemon juice, 2 tsp. cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper. Let sit for an hour.
Melt butter and add jalapeno pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons ground cumin, paprika, curry powder, sriracha sauce and stir for 2 minutes, until nice and fragrant.
Add chicken and cook for five minutes. Add tomato sauce and dried chiles and simmer for 15 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked.
Remove from heat, stir in remaining 3 ounces of Greek yogurt. Garnish with cilantro and serve over brown rice (brown rice not accounted for in nutrition information). Serves 4 (4 oz. of meat with sauce).
Nutrition Information (per serving): 204 calories; 3.8 g. fat; 63 mg. cholesterol; 781 mg. sodium; 9 g. carbohydrate; 2.3 g. fiber; 32 g. protein
Result: Hot-say-tot-say! Not for the weak! The heat weak should leave out the Sriracha. This was good! Mr. Prevention loved this dish, as did I. Tikka masala doesn’t have to be hard, and Biz broke it down for us! And talk about healthy…love it! The tomato sauce jacks up the sodium content quite a bit, and there’s really no getting around that. But everything else checks out perfectly, especially serves atop a bed of fluffy brown rice. Enjoy!
So, how’d I do!?
Did you know that a “masala” is just a blend of spices? I learned that from Aarti Party on the Food Network in her latest episode — I didn’t know that!
Question: Do you like it hot…or not?
Keep it clean, people!
I am cringing at the thought of your thumb! I am so weird about nail issues because i’m constantly afraid that I”m going to lose toenails from marathon training. It hasn’t happened yet…but one of these days it’s bound to. I hope it gets better soon!
Though I really want to say something raunchy about the whole like it hot thing (you KNOW I do!), I’ll keep it PG. That Indian food. If it were a man, I would totally sleep with it.
That Indian Food looks so good! I’ve never tried Indian Food before so I’m bookmarking this right away!
Aarti Party!! Lol, sorry, Nick and I love to say that, over and over again…AAAARTI PARTY!
It never gets old. Thanks for sharing your recipes. I may have to try these one night with my mom, who LOVES Indian food as much as I do!
Sorry about your finger, yuck, that does sound incredibly painful. Isn’t it crazy how you don’t realize how much/often you use something, until it’s gone?? Same with electricity. I hope your finger feels better.
I’m on a crazy Indian food kick but keep buying the sauces out of a jar, out of pure laziness-I need to recreate asap!
Hope your finger feels better asap!
Sorry about your finger– yikes!!!
This looks delicious– I LOVE Indian food, but always feel a little intimidated about making it at home. This looks easy enough!
Um, OUCH!! That sounds incredibly painful! I agree – anything to do with your fingers is such a pain (no pun intended). We use them for EVERYthing! I hope it feels better soon!
Mmm… I love Indian food and definitely LOVE spicy food!
Hot! Really starting to love Indian food.
HOT! That tikka masala looks amazing! Well it all does actually. I haven’t made curry for quite a while – a few months ago I was on a curry kick and we’d eat it every day.
Ugh! The fingernail thing… that’s the worst!
I hope it feels better soon. Until then, can I suggest girly bandaids? They always make me happy…
I love spicy food, but I’ve never made that before…or tried it out. Looks like something else to add to my menu!
I like Indian food but nothing too spicy. I hope your thumb gets better quickly. I’m sure I would be whining and crying way more than you!
I’ve seriously been craving Indian food!
LOVE indian dishes! I’ve been exclusively making samosas lately (healthified of course!) so I totally need to master a few new dishes to go with that! =) super spicy? YES PLEASE!
omg! So sorry to hear about your finger! Thanks for still sharing this recipe though! I am definitely going to put it on the “to make” list! I love Indian food! Feel better soon!!
Ouuuch! Sorry about your thumb!! And you definitely gave me the willies.
I love Indian! I don’t have a lot of experience cooking it at home but I want to experiment soon. I *love* spicy foods! I’m always up for a try it HOT challenge.
I can’t handle the heat, although that chicken dish looks so yummy I’d have to crank down the spiciness.
Sucks about your thumb!! Hope it heals up fast, I dont know what I’d do without a thumb, you need them for everything.
Now Im seriously craving indian food. I LOVE spice.
I have been wanting to try Indian food for some time now but all the recipes I find have coconut milk in it (I’m allergic).
Thanks for posting – I may try the tiki masala recipe!
Oh no, I hope your thumb heals quickly! I agree that we don’t realize just how much we use our fingers — every paper cut is another reminder of that!
I’m all about the Indian food and this looks amazing!!!
I didn’t know that about masala–interesting! I really love the show Arti Parti..she is so much fun!