Curries are offered in many ethnic cuisines. This chicken curry recipe only echoes curries found in restaurants. There is no heavy sauce that accompanies the dinner (So add it to your list of healthy chicken recipes!) and the curry used does not bring much heat with it. Nevertheless, the flavors of curry, lime and plum are exotic and interesting.
Plums are abundant in summertime. Their deep red or purple color intensifies in cooking, but tart plums mellow in flavor to make them a delightful addition to this dinner. Yellow squash is also a typically summer treat. They do not bring much flavor to the table with them, but they make up for it with contrasting color and crisp texture. Squash is also an ingredient that soaks up flavor well. The curry and lime flavors blend well inside the yellow squash pieces.
Look below for substitution ingredients to use during the winter months.
Plum Curry Chicken (Serves 4)
Ingredients:
- 1 T vegetable oil
- 2 Chicken Breasts
- 1/2 t yellow curry powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 Tart Plums (cut into chunks)
- 2 Yellow Straight Neck Squashes (sliced into semi-circles)
- 2 T lime juice
- 2 C cooked rice
Instructions:
- Begin cooking the rice if it is not already made.
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Season with salt, pepper and yellow curry powder.
- Cut plums into slices or bite-sized chunks. Cut the squash in half, lengthwise and then slice across into semi-circles.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. When the oil is very hot, add the chicken, cooking quickly until nearly cooked through, but still slightly pink.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Reduce the heat to medium low.
- Add the plums and squash to the pan and return the pan to the burner. Splash with lime juice and stir briefly to deglaze.
- Cover the pan and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the squash is tender.
- Serve over rice.
Colder Month Recipe Substitutions
Each of the produce items listed can be harder to find in the late fall and winter. If they are available, their prices will probably be fairly high. To make this dish in the colder months, use cooking apples or red pears in place of the plums. The color will not be as vibrant, but the flavor will still be good. Instead of yellow squash, use pieces of winter squash. The winter squash will turn out more mushy in texture, but it will add color to the dish and it will absorb flavor well.
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