Sunday, October 12, 2008

Spicy Almond Chicken

Spicy Almond ChickenI apologize for this picture--I'm not that great with a camera anyway and our daylight is fading so fast that by the time I've got dinner on the table I have no light to speak of.

So you'll just have to take my word for it that this was a wonderful recipe--a definite must make that everyone loved. I modified it from a Cooking Light recipe I found recently and it was so well received that in fact the next afternoon Lillian came home from school and said with this fond emotion in her voice, "Mom, you know that chicken you fixed last night? It was SO GOOD!"

Take that McDonald's!

Anyway, it smells wonderful cooking and drove the workmen crazy--they kept commenting on how great the place smelled and considering that we were all choking on dust that's saying something.

4-5 tablespoons olive oil
6 5-inch cinnamon sticks
7 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 14-ounce can chicken broth
1 8-ounce container of fat free plain yogurt
1 tablespoon flour
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup toasted ground almonds
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 tablespoons slivered toasted almonds

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add cinnamon sticks and bay leaves. Cook 2 minutes or until it's smelling very good. Add onion and garlic; cook 5 minutes or until tender. Add the curry powder, turmeric, salt, and cardamom and mix the add the broth and stir to mix.

In a large lightly greased baking dish pour the sauce over six chicken breasts. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes or until chicken is tender and nearly done.

Remove the chicken from pan with a slotted spoon. Discard the cinnamon sticks and bay leaves. Transfer the remaining sauce from the baking dish back to the skillet and cook over low heat 5 minutes. Combine yogurt, flour, and sugar in a small bowl then stir in 1/2 cup hot liquid. Add the yogurt mixture to pan, stirring until smooth, then stir in ground almonds. Cook 5 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Return chicken to the pan and cook for five more minutes. Sprinkle with diced bell pepper and slivered almonds.

Goes great with a side of rice and fresh fruit.

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Technorati tags: food, recipes, chicken

10 comments:

Annette Lyon said...

A recipe that uses cardamom? Sold! I just brought a bunch of fresh cardomom back from Finland (the US stuff is pathetic in comparison.) I'm totally trying this out.

Barb said...

At least you have an excuse for the photos you think are less than perfect. I can't use the lighting as an out - I just consistently take bad pictures. LOL

This chicken sounds (and looks) delicious!

I always think of you guys up north this time of year. Since my brother-in-law and his family live in Wasilla, I know how your hours of daylight are starting to disappear.

Anonymous said...

This sounds great-but when do you add the broth? I will be trying this!

Unknown said...

What is cardamom???? The dish sounds really good. I have everything except cardamom.

luckyzmom said...

Sounds yummo and comes with Lillians recommendation.

Scribbit said...

Cardamom is a spice--used a lot in Indian and Middle Eastern food but goes well with both sweet and savory. In fact I use it in my cinnamon rolls sometimes. You should be able to find it ground in the spice section--they have it in pods as well but the ground stuff is what I used here.

Anonymous said...

The photo looks good to me. I'll definitely be trying this one out...looks delicious!

dooleysinpng said...

OMGosh! This was fabulous! My entire family loved it! My 3 year old had 3 helpings and she is at a super picky stage! Living in PNG, I always have to make substitutions, so used reduced fat cream instead of yogurt, and tomatoes instead of the bell peppers. We will be fighting over the left overs! Thanks!
Gail

Rachael Hutchings said...

Yum! I love savoury recipes that use ingredients like cinnamon and cardamom.

Ice Cream said...

We just had this for dinner tonight and it was fabulous. I was hesitant to make it because of all the steps (hard to do with a baby) but after hearing Lillian's testimony I had to try it. It was an absolute winner. I have been trying to get my kids to try new and unusual foods and this is a fanastic meal for starting kids on Indian food. The only one who wouldn't eat it was Sweet Terror, but she only refused based on principle (she refuses to eat dinner voluntarily and likes to tell us she is "so thirsty for chocolate").