The light chicken curry was the first oriental recipe I ever tried to prepare. I was in London and had recently joined Weight Watchers. At meetings I bought several WW cookbooks, including one specifically about Indian cooking, and this recipe is my adaptation of several recipes in that book. The result is an aromatic, fragrant and very creamy sauce but perfect for a diet.
As I often explain in the ethnic recipes on my blog where I use curry, instead of the Indian curry—which is made using a larger quantity of spices with a stronger, more pronounced flavor—I often use Indonesian curry.
In the Netherlands this is called kerrie: a spice blend with a golden yellow color due to the predominance of turmeric, making it sweeter than Indian curry. My recipe for this type of curry is here: Curry powder (Indonesian kerrie).
Obviously, the ready-made curry found in supermarkets or Asian food stores works perfectly, and if you like you can add or remove certain spices.
My curries never taste exactly the same because I always change something when I make them—adding or subtracting a spice—but for this recipe I measured everything so I can give you the precise ingredients. Let’s prepare it.
You can find some other chicken recipes here:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Budget-friendly
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 2Servings
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup basmati or Thai rice
- 2/3 lb chicken breast (trimmed)
- 14 oz diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup crème fraîche or light sour cream (125 g Greek yogurt (~4.4 oz) as an alternative)
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 onion
- 5 tsp curry powder (homemade or ready-made)
- to taste ground chili pepper (optional)
- to taste salt and pepper
- to taste vegetables to serve (green beans, broccoli, escarole…)
- WW points per serving without rice = 7 WW points
- WW points per serving with rice = 13 WW points
Preparation
Cut the trimmed chicken into cubes, slice the garlic and onion, and prepare the diced tomatoes.
Place the sliced onion in a nonstick pan. Sauté slowly, using a splash of water if needed, and when the onion begins to soften remove from heat and set aside.
In another pan pour a teaspoon of oil and gently toast the curry (kerrie) powder over low heat for a few minutes so the spices release their aroma.
Add ground chili pepper at this point if you like. Stir constantly to prevent the spices from burning. After a few minutes add the onions and garlic and let them brown slightly, then add the tomatoes and let simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes to reduce the sauce.
While the sauce cooks, toss a teaspoon of oil with the chicken so the cubes are lightly coated.
Heat a nonstick skillet and brown the chicken pieces on all sides.
Make sure the chicken pieces remain well separated in the pan; if necessary, cook the chicken in two batches.
Set the browned chicken aside.
When the sauce has reduced, add the chicken pieces and mix well into the sauce.
Cover the pan and cook over moderate heat for 10 minutes so the chicken absorbs the flavors and finishes cooking.
Add the crème fraîche or yogurt, stir well and cook for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If the sauce becomes too thick you can add a couple of tablespoons of skim milk.
While the chicken cooks, prepare the rice and the vegetables you chose by boiling them separately in salted water.
And here our light chicken curry is ready — suitable for those on a diet but also for the whole family. In fact, children often enjoy it if you omit the chili.
Serve with rice and vegetables, or without rice as a light main course instead of a single-dish meal. Absolutely finger-licking good!
Enjoy your meal!
by Giovanna Buono
