Indian chicken and spinach curry + herb and spice quinoa

Do you ever see a recipe and you are oh-so-excited to make it, but then as you realize you are not even a quarter of the way through cooking, you realize this meal is going to be a bit of an ordeal? Let's just say, it's always good when such recipes turn out well. And delicious. Especially on a weeknight. Because if they don't, doing dishes afterwards is enough to undo you. That is, if eating the meal hasn't already.

I love when cookbooks include a "goes well with" note at the end of a recipe. It's like free, professional help with food pairing. It's nice. Just remember not to bite off more than you can chew on a weeknight. This is more of a reminder to myself than anything.

All that being said, this curry and quinoa creation was pretty tasty. Maybe try it on a weekend.

Indian chicken and spinach curry

As adapted from Mighty Spice Cookbook - Fast, Fresh, and Vibrant Dishes Using No More Than 5 Spices for Each Recipe

Serves 4.

Ingredients for the curry:

10 oz. baby spinach

1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 large onion, roughly chopped

2 large tomatoes (or a few small ones), quartered

4 garlic cloves

1-inch piece ginger root, peeled and roughly chopped

1/2 jalapeño, sliced lengthwise and seeded 

2 tablespoons coconut oil

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 lb. 2 oz. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces

1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)

Bring large saucepan of water to boil and add spinach. Cook briefly, just until wilting, then strain, reserving cooking water. Put spinach and a scant 1/2 cup of the cooking water into a food processor and puree until smooth. Transfer pureed spinach to a bowl and set aside to cool. Using the same food processor (don't worry about washing), blend garam masala, salt, onion, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, jalapeño, and a little water until smooth. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and throw in cumin seeds. Wait a few seconds until they start crackling, then pour in tomato mixture. Stir, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Tip in spinach, chicken, and cream (if using), and stir well. Turn up heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, 12-15 minutes until chicken is cooked through and tender.

Herb and spice quinoa

As adapted from Mighty Spice Cookbook - Fast, Fresh, and Vibrant Dishes Using No More Than 5 Spices for Each Recipe

This side dish recipe actually calls for basmati rice, but I decided to try quinoa. The quinoa was great, but be warned - it definitely does not look as pretty as the pilaf rice.

Serves 4.

Ingredients for quinoa:

1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup cashew nuts
2 cardamom pods
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 cups chicken stock
1 large handful parsley leaves, finely chopped
2 large handfuls cilantro leaves, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Toast cashew nuts in a large skillet over medium heat. Shake pan constantly for 1-2 minutes. Add almonds and continue shaking pan 1-2 minutes longer until nuts are golden. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Split open cardamom pods on a cutting board with the flat side of a knife. This helps release their flavor. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat, add split cardamom pods and cumin seeds. Stir-fry 10-20 seconds until seeds start to crackle, then add onion, cooking 3-4 minutes until soft. Bring chicken stock to boil in a medium saucepan. Add quinoa, and onion and spice mixture. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until quinoa is tender and has absorbed all liquid, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat. Fluff quinoa with a fork and toss together with toasted nuts, parsley, and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.

First of all, cumin seeds. They are so fragrant, not to mention the way they crackle in the pan. They are the epitome of the word "crackle." Even more so than Rice Krispies. For real. If you haven't cooked with them, you should give it a try. They're fun. Secondly, cardamom pods - at first I thought I was just going to take the easy way out and use the ground cardamom I had on hand. But then I thought, "No, this is Explorations of an Amateur Cook; I should be willing to try anything!" So I did. The funny part is that I snatched two cardamom pods out of a loose leaf tea I also had on hand to use in this recipe. No judging. Ha ha.

It was also quite humorous that the chicken thighs I had purchased for the curry went missing. Not quite sure where they got left or ended up. But Zack, being the wonderful husband and sous chef that he is, picked up some more for me on his way home from work making this meal possible.

This curry and quinoa was a little ambitious for a weeknight, but it was very tasty. Lots of steps, but satisfying in the end. And I cooked with cardamom seeds for the first time, not to mention putting my own spin on the herb and spice pilaf rice (quinoa, in this case). Plus, mixing up my own garam masala spice mixture (follow the link to it as seen in my ingredient list). An Explorations success if I do say so myself.

The recipes are coming at full force, so don't be too long before you check back here again. Cheers.