Chicken Curry

I should title this “Chicken Curry - Revisited again”! I just keep changing my mind on how to make my curry!

A few years ago I posted a recipe for the best Whole30 Chicken Curry and said that I had found the secret to perfectly balancing the amount of curry paste with the amount of coconut milk and chicken broth. Which was true - until I tried a different brand of curry! What a difference there is in the intensity of curry flavor with different brands of curry paste 🧐. By the time I added enough curry paste to get the flavor right, it was too hot for me!

Curry became a regular menu item for me when I started Whole30 several years ago, it is so delicious, easy to make, and it consists of all real food ingredients. There is a variety of ways to adapt curry to your eating style - for keto, omit the potato and carrot, add green beans and broccoli and serve over riced cauliflower; if you prefer a plant based meal, just omit the chicken and load up on those vegetables!

So now my new trick has emerged and here it is . . . start with 2 cans of coconut milk, 1 teaspoon of curry paste, and 1 teaspoon of curry powder, then . . . make adjustments from there, keeping in mind to possibly include some chicken or vegetable stock to smooth out the flavor if it is too spicy or rich. The curry powder adds to the curry flavor without getting hot, so to add that rather than more curry paste is perfect! And the ingredients - well, what do you have in your refrigerator?? That is another thing I love about curry, I always have the ingredients on hand - coconut milk, curry paste and powder, and some kind of meat and vegetables in the refrigerator, so,I’ve always got a last minute dinner idea.

Welcome to my ever changing curry recipe, and enjoy! This is a great recipe to double up on and save for leftovers or freeze for a later date.

INGREDIENTS -

2 chicken breasts, sliced into bite size pieces
1 can curry paste
2 cans coconut milk
1 cup sweet onion, diced
Vegetables – carrot, potato, frozen green beans and/or peas (Optional – sweet potato, broccoli – anything you like in curry!
1 tsp lime juice
Avocado oil
Chicken or vegetable stock (optional)
Riced cauliflower or rice
Optional toppings – thai basil, cilantro, chopped peanuts

Bring about 2 tablespoons of avocado oil to medium heat in a heavy pot such as a dutch oven. Add the onion and slowly stir for about 15 minutes, beyond softening to where the sweetness of the onion begins to come out.  Add 1 teaspoon of the curry paste and 1 teaspoon of curry powder. Saute this with the onion for a few minutes. Add the coconut milk and stir until blended, bringing to a simmer.   Add the chicken and uncooked vegetables to the pot and simmer for 30 minutes.  Then add any frozen vegetables and continue to warm through.  Lastly, add the teaspoon of lime juice and stir to blend.

Now for the taste test. I prefer my curry mild so this balance was just perfect for me. Need a little more heat? Add additional curry paste. If you prefer a thinner curry, stir in some chicken or vegetable stock.

Serve over the rice or riced cauliflower and garnish with your choice of toppings.  Another good paleo/Whole 30 idea is to serve over a bed of roasted sweet potatoes!  Yum!

You can experiment with different vegetables, but you can also vary up the protein, shrimp and pork are a couple of my favorite curry ingredients.

Place your leftover curry in a ziplock bag for the freezer and you have a quick and easy meal for one of those days! 

Enjoy!