I love curry. Red
cury, green curry, coconut curry, all curry.
I am also in college, which by default means I have very little money
and a small grocery budget. The
ingredients that go into a homemade curry (namely fresh produce and herbs) can
get pricey. Given my limited income, I
cannot blow a whole month’s worth of grocery money on all the lovely fresh
ingredients that go into a more complex curry.
I have to save some money for the important things like bread, milk, eggs, and
easymac. So this is a simplified, and
therefore much cheaper, version of coconut curry that utilizes the herbs and
spices everyone should keep in their cupboards. The simplicity also keeps the cooking time down which is also bonus when functioning on a collegiate time budget, a.k.a forever and always lacking time. Just because its simpler,
however, does not mean it lacks in flavor or deliciousness. I personally thought it was quite flavorful
and pretty delish. Enjoy!
This is the finished product. Apologies for the photo quality. I wish I could take fancy food pictures with a nice camera, lovely backgrounds, colorful dish ware, and pretty garnishes. However, all I've got is my cell phone, my apartment countertop, and the cheapest ceramic dishes found at Target. I think I'll buy pretty dishes when I grow up and get a real job, maybe even take a food photography class. But for now, I'm pretty content with what I have.
Simple (Cheap) Coconut Curry Chicken with Rice
Makes about 2 servings
Ingredients:
5 Tbs butter (divided)*
1 cup yellow onion (diced)
1 Tbs garlic (minced)
½ tsp garlic salt
1 cup chicken broth*
1 3/4 tsp coconut extract
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp basil
1 ¼ tsp curry powder
½ tsp coriander
¼ cup + 2 tsp whole milk*
1 chicken breast (cut into bite-size 1-2 inch pieces)
½ cup rice
Salt or garlic salt to taste
Directions:
Melt 3 Tablespoons of the butter in a medium size pot or
saucepan. Add ½ tsp garlic salt. Sautee
the chopped onion and minced garlic in the butter on medium high heat until the
onions begin to get soft (about 4 or 5 minutes). Stir coconut extract, nutmeg, basil, curry
powder and coriander into the cup of chicken broth*. Add the chicken broth to the pan or pot and
bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil,
quickly stir in the rice, chicken, and milk.
Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover.
Simmer for 17-20 minutes. (I
cooked mine for 20 minutes and the rice was softer. Usually I demand al dente but for this type
of dish I like it softer. If you prefer rice al dente always, simmer for less
time). Once the rice is cooked, uncover
the pan/pot, stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, salt or garlic salt
to taste, and the dish is complete. I
used about ¼ to ½ tsp of garlic salt, but everyone has different salt threshold
and I tend to like things on the saltier side, so salt how you like.
Notes:
*You can cut down on the butter to cut calories if you
prefer. I guarantee you it will not
taste nearly as good, but it will still taste good. Just remember, everything is better with
butter.
*You can use your own homemade chicken broth or the basic
chicken broth you get from a can at the grocery store. I used Swanson’s low-sodium chicken broth and
it was cheap ($1.00) and delicious.
*I used whole milk because I had some leftover in the fridge
that was about to expire. It gave the
dish a nice creamy texture. However, if
you don’t happen to have whole milk on hand, I’m positive skim or 1% would work
just fine. The texture would just be a
little less creamy. You could even use a
combination of milk and half and half or cream if you have either of those on
hand
