Recently, one of Kenya’s teachers asked me to give a spice demonstration to his class. I love teaching kids about fruits, veggies and other foods, but never before had it occurred to me to introduce them to spices. Thrilled by the challenge, I took Kenya to our local spice store, which is populated with HUGE containers of the most beautiful, aromatic herbs and spices from all around the world. Kenya and I explored for over an hour. I couldn’t believe how excited he was to taste and smell the wide variety of offerings on hand.
Kenya and I brought a sampling of our purchases to his class the next day and the kids were totally engaged by the vibrant colors, exotic smells and different textures. I wish I had brought a camera with me to take pictures of some of the faces Kenya’s classmates made tasting everything from garam masala, to cinnamon, to pink peppercorns, to amchoor (mango powder that they ate like candy) and more — it was priceless. The one spice all the kids seemed to enjoy was the mild curry powder. I was a bit surprised at the overwhelming popularity of curry with a bunch of four year-olds, but it inspired me to come home that night and make this simple dish.
I always recommend to parents that they start exposing their babies early on to all sorts of herbs and spices as they give even the most basic foods a ton of extra flavor. Herbs and spices also help expand little ones’ palettes. Case in point, Kenya and Chloe always loved a touch of curry in their baby food — probably one of the reasons they enjoyed this easy-to-make Chicken Curry so much!
Easy Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and cubed into 1 inch pieces
- 1 pound chicken breasts boneless, skinless and cubed
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 medium carrots peeled and sliced into coins
- 1 large russet potato peeled and cubed into 1 inch pieces
- 1 14 oz can light coconut milk
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
Instructions
- Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat and sauté the onions for 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic and bell peppers, sauté an additional minute.
- Add the cubed chicken, sauté for 2 minutes, stir in the curry powder, salt, tomato paste, carrots and potatoes until they are all coated.
- Pour in the coconut milk and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to a simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove lid, add the frozen peas and simmer an additional 15 minutes.
- Serve over rice.
use half as much when converting kosher to table salt
I made this tonight and my 11 month old and my husband loved it! Thank you for the great recipes!
[…] meals to see if they are hearty enough for his return.Wednesday~ Chicken Sausage and PastaThursday~ Easy Chicken Curry. I’ve made this two times before and some very picky eaters LOVED it.Friday~ Fried […]
[…] is what’s on tap for us the rest of the week…Sunday~ Easy chicken curry with rice and salad on the side.Monday~ Beef stew in the Ninja slow cooker. Egg noodles on the […]
So this chicken curry is a family favorite, all 5 of us like it!!! I’m obsessed with my crock pot so I decided to try and make it in the crock pot and it came out great! I coated the bottom with the olive oil threw everything in and kind of stirred it up a little. Cooked on high for 4 hours just threw the peas in in the last 15-20 mins. Yummy!
Did you use table salt or kosher salt? If you use table salt, cut in half.
I think I added waaaay too much salt. This recipe is confusing. Is it 1 1/2 teaspoonS of salt? Which is what I did. Or one helping of a 1/2 teaspoon of salt? Which is what I’m guessing is correct. Although below when you say 1/2 cup of peas, it’s not written as 1 1/2 cup. Anyway *sigh* it’s made. Maybe over rice it’ll be better.
It should be fine to freeze for up to two months!
Loved it. Have anyone frozen it? Thanks.
Hi! I plan on making this (again!) soon. Last time I made it w/chicken and it was fantastic, but I’m thinking of making this with chickpeas instead of chicken this time around. Any tips?
Can anyone recommend a mild curry powder? I can only find regular curry powder and they all have chili and cayenne. Thanks!
Just made this tonight and it turned out great. I added some addtl spices (garam masala, cumin, coriander, cardamom) for more punch, but the recipe is very versatile and lends itself to a variety of mixes and veggies. Thanks for another great recipe!
Just add some water or chicken stock to thin it out 🙂
Really tasty, but turned out a bit thick…any way to thin it out? my 3 year old loved it! Also, to reheat, should I just microwave or heat in oven?
Thanks!
Delicious! Tweaked it a bit by using a sweet potato instead of the russet.