My Culinary Adventures: Curried Coconut Chicken, Aloo Gobi, Indian Saffron Rice

Ok, this is take two of the Curried Coconut Chicken curry!  The first time I tried it, it came out way too tomatoey.  This time it turned out much better because I used less tomato paste!  I changed up the saffron rice recipe by adding peas, carrots, cardamom and cinnamon and it was delicious!  I had two guests over for dinner and they really liked it :)  Took about 3 hours total of cooking time, and I was using both burners, switching in pots and pans, but it was fun and I was definitely super proud of myself for making a meal like this!

Curried Coconut Chicken
Recipe adapted from Allrecipes
Ingredients
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 teaspoon salt and pepper, or to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons curry powder
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed, diced tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
3 tablespoons sugar

1. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil and curry powder in a large skillet over medium-high heat for two minutes. Stir in onions and garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add chicken, tossing lightly to coat with curry oil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in center and juices run clear.
3. Pour coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sugar into the pan, and stir to combine. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.

Aloo Gobi
Recipe adapted from Allrecipes
Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon ginger
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garam masala*
salt to taste
1 pound cauliflower
1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro

1. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir in the cumin seeds, garlic, and ginger. Cook about 1 minute until garlic is lightly browned. Add the potatoes. Season with turmeric, paprika, cumin, garam masala*, and salt. Cover and continue cooking 5 to 7 minutes stirring occasionally.
2. Mix the cauliflower and cilantro into the saucepan. Reduce heat to low, add some water to the pan so that the vegetables don't stick to the bottom, and cover. Stirring occasionally, continue cooking 10 minutes, or until potatoes and cauliflower are tender, adding more water as necessary.
3. * I don't have garam masala, but there is a recipe with all the ingredients.  I basically just added all of those ingredients to the pan.

Indian Saffron Rice
Recipe adapted from Allrecipes
Ingredients
1 teaspoon powdered saffron
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 cups boiling water, divided
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup uncooked white rice, not rinsed
1 teaspoon salt

1 small can peas

1/3 cup raisins

1 tsp ground cardamom

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Steep the saffron in 1/2 cup boiling water.
2. In a skillet that can be tightly covered, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the rice and salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until the rice begins to absorb the butter and becomes opaque, but do not brown the rice.
3. Quickly pour in the remaining 1 1/2 cups boiling water along with the saffron water. Stir in peas, raisins, cardamom, and cinnamon.  Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 20 minutes, or until all of the liquid is absorbed. For best results, do not remove the lid while the rice is cooking.