A Versatile Coconut Curried Dinner Dish

A tasty, easy, dairy free, gluten free with vegan or vegetarian options!

A good friend of mine, Pam, made a "Curried Butter Chicken" for dinner one evening 18 years ago and I was hooked! It was amazing, it was steeped with flavour, creaminess and the chicken tenders were perfect sided with some warmed naan bread!

Shortly after that I went dairy free and gluten free but was not willing to be Butter Chicken free! Although, I so appreciate the traditional recipe, I wanted a quicker, yet still tasty way of making this dish. Dealing with various dietary needs, my own as well as friends, family and clients I developed a versatile version that can be made vegetarian .

This dinner dish is delish and will satisfy any dietary needs of your guests all in one sitting! The best part is you don't have to cook other dishes to accomodate those special dietary needs!

This meal also makes a great lunch! After a day or two days the flavour intensifies and becomes yummier!

This dish also freezes well! So you can easily batch cook for future ready to go lunches or dinner.

What about camping?

Yes, it’s easy camping food too! Frozen and then reheated!

Coconut Curried Chick’N

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Preheat oven 375F

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients to prepare chicken:

• 8-12 chicken thighs, bone in, skin on

• 1 tbsp of tandoori powder, optional (adds heat to the chicken)

• 1 tsp of salt

• 1 tsp of pepper

Vegetarian Version:

• 1 cup or more canned BPA free chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 1/2- 1 cup of frozen or fresh sweet peas

• 1 cup of cauliflower florets, rinsed

(see Pro/Meal Tips below for more recipe tips)

Ingredients for curry sauce:

• 1/8 cup of olive oil (or ghee, if tolerated)

• 1 large yellow onion, diced

• 2 tbsp of minced fresh ginger, peeled and diced small (or 1 tbsp of a puree)

• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced

• 1-2 tsp of paprika

• 1 tsp of turmeric

• 2 bay leaves (remove before serving; meant for flavour only)

• 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper, (optional)

• 2 tsp of garam masala

• 1 tsp of sea salt

• 1/4 tsp of cinnamon

• 2-3 tbsp of tomato paste

• 2 large beefsteak tomatoes, chopped

• 1 1/2 cups of regular coconut milk (canned version) or 1 cup coconut milk, 1/2 cup water.

• 1 tbsp of arrowroot towards end of cooking to make a thicker sauce.

• 1 tbsp of honey, or less

• fresh cilantro for garnish

Preparation:

For the chicken:

• place the chicken thighs on a baking or broiling rack and sprinkle with salt, pepper and tandoori

• place in a preheated oven of 375F, bake for 40-45 minutes. At 20 minutes, turn the thighs over and let bake another 20-25 minutes.

• once baking is complete, remove from oven. Remove the skin and bone from thighs using a fork and knife. Set aside till the sauce is made.

For the Sauce:

• In a medium-large sauce pan on medium heat, add the olive oil. Add the chopped onion and ginger let sauté for 2 minutes. Add garlic, again sauté for 1 minute. Do not burn the garlic (imparts a bitter taste).

• Add the paprika, turmeric, garam masala, sea salt, cayenne (if using) and cinnamon. Stir till well mixed.

• Add the tomato paste and the chopped tomatoes. Stir in and let simmer for 1-2 minutes.

• Add in coconut milk and let simmer for 3-5 minutes. Do not let it over boil- the coconut fat will separate.

• Add cooked chicken into the sauce and let simmer on medium-low for 10-15 minutes. For a thicker sauce at 1 tbsp of arrowroot, at end and stir in quickly. Add honey, if using also.

Pro Tip/Meal:

• to accommodate both vegetarian and non-vegetarians at one sitting: take out enough sauce for vegetarian servings; place in a separate pot and then add the chickpeas and vegetables. Warm in pot till sauce begins to simmer and vegetables are tender.

Options:

• to make a hearty curried dish, add chickpeas and vegetables in with chicken option!

• to add a little sweetness to dish, add 1 tbsp of honey (or alternative) into the sauce at end of cooking.

• serve with rice, flat bread, stir fry vegetables or salad.

• if you choose chicken breasts, choose bone-in, as the boneless can become dry if cooked too long. You will need to cut away the bone prior to adding to the curry sauce.

• top with fresh cilantro

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