North Indian Chicken Curry with Spinach

 

My family is about as unpicky as its gets. We like any type of ethnic food and we like variety in our meals, kids included. Well they don’t have a choice. They eat what we eat and Dave and I are adventurous eaters. So if they are naturally good eaters or not, they sure are now. Last week I made an Indian dish that turned out great. I made it a crockpot meal so it would be completely done when we got home from running around to ballet and soccer practice in the evening. Indian food is nice because the spice is very customizable. You can add as little or much cayenne pepper as desired. Or leave it out all together and put a bottle of tobasco on the table for those who like the heat.

Throw everything in the crockpot the night before and put it in the fridge. Set it on low  in the crockpot before you leave in the morning. Come home to an amazing smelling dinner.

North Indian Curry

serves 8

3 lbs chicken (bone in or out, breasts, legs, thighs, etc), skin and fat trimmed

2 cups diced tomatoes, canned or fresh including their juices

1/2 onion, diced

1 cup whole milk plain yogurt

1 tsp cornstarch

1 Tbs minced garlic

1 Tbs fresh minced ginger or 1/8 tsp dried

1 Tbs ground coriander

1.5 Tbs garam marsala

1.5 tsp cumin

1 tsp sea salt

3/4 tsp tumeric

a few shakes-3/4 tsp cayenne

1/2 cup chopped cilantro or 1 Tbs dried, plus more for garnish

10 oz chopped spinach, fresh or frozen.

Place onions, chicken, and tomatoes in bottom of a crockpot.

Mix together the rest of the ingredients, besides spinach. (Whole milk yogurt is best because the higher fat content will keep the yogurt from curdling. The cornstarch also aids in this).

Pour into crockpot and mix everything together. Set on high for 5 hours or low for 8.

Take 2 forks and pull apart the chicken meat so its in smaller, but not shredded, torn pieces. Place the spinach in the crockpot and stir everything so the sauce gets all over the torn up chicken. Let it cook for another 30 minutes.

Serve over soaked or sprouted brown rice.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 303

Fat: 6.5 g

Sodium: 386 mg (15%)

Carbohydrates: 6 g

Dietary Fiber: 2 g

Sugars: 3 g

Protein: 53 g

served over 1/2 cup brown rice brings it to 475 calories, 7.8 g fat,  42 g carbs, 4 g fiber, and 57 g protein per serving.

Soaked Pancakes

I have quite a few pancake recipes I use but I have one basic recipe that I have memorized and use most often for its ability to customize. This one is based off of my basic greek yogurt pancakes but since I soak all of my grains now, I adapted the recipe to use kefir instead. Its much cheaper than greek yogurt and the soak gives the pancakes a much fluffier texture.

Use the same recipe for waffles but add 1 tbs coconut oil to the batter if you want a crispier waffle.

Soaked Pancake Recipe

makes 2 large servings

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup kefir

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 eggs

1/2 banana

shredded coconut, raisins, chopped apples, chopped nut or of choice, chocolate chips

Place oats in a blender and make oat flour. Add whole wheat flour and kefir. Mix until combined. Let sit overnight 12-18 hours.

In the morning put the rest of the ingredients in the blender and blend just until combined.

Cook on medium high heat on a greased griddle. Sprinkle add ins on top as soon as batter is put on the griddle so they have time to sink down, before you flip it.

Nutritional Information (not including add ins)

Calories: 382

Fat: 9.2 g

Sodium: 438 mg (18%)

Carbohydrates: 58 g

dietary fiber: 5 g

sugars: 10 g

Protein: 17 g