Quinoa Chicken Curry

I’m excited to share with you this recipe for Quinoa Chicken Curry, but before I do, I wanted to share a bit about quinoa.

Although quinoa seems to be a bit of a “new” super food, it has actually been around for thousands of years and was considered one of the most important crops of the Incas. This grain-like seed is really easy to cook (you cook it like rice) but is chock full of nutritional benefits. Quinoa’s high protein content makes it a great choice for vegans and vegetarians. It is also a complete protein which means it contains all the essential amino acids. Quinoa is also rich in vitamins and minerals, including magnesium, phosphorous, zinc, iron, potassium, calcium, vitamin B, folate, and riboflavin. Quinoa is also naturally gluten free, and can be ground into a flour that allows for gluten free baking. Whew.

I really didn’t know much about quinoa, or how to use it. So I was excited to be given the chance to review The Complete Idiot’s Guide Quinoa Cookbook to learn more about it.  The book is full of quinoa recipes, including breakfast, dinner, and even dessert recipes. I wanted to try one of the more traditional preparations of quinoa, but can’t wait to delve into the more interesting uses for it in future posts (Lemon Poppy Seed Quinoa Cupcakes, anyone?) The book had a recipe for Quinoa Indian Chicken Curry that sounded absolutely fantastic!

Ingredients:

Note: Quinoa seeds grow in a bitter resin called saponins which would not be pleasant in the least to eat. Although all quinoa sold soaks the seeds in a solution to remove the saponins, it is always a good idea to rinse and drain the quinoa before cooking it.

To make the quinoa chicken curry, add the quinoa and 2 cups chicken broth to a pot and bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 15 minutes or until almost all the liquid has been absorbed.

Cut the chicken into 1 inch pieces. Add the chicken to a bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 2 teaspoons curry powder. Mix to coat.

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces and cook for about 7 minutes or until just done, stirring to cook evenly. Set aside.

Using the same saute pan, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the yellow onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add the peas, cauliflower, cumin, celery seed, fennel seed, tumeric, and the remaining 4 teaspoons curry powder.

Add the remaining 2 cups chicken broth and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. (The original recipe didn’t specify when to add the chicken pieces back in. I decided to add them along with the chicken broth to allow them to simmer in the mixture.)

Remove from heat and stir in the low-fat yogurt and nonfat sour cream.

Stir in the quinoa, cashews, cilantro, salt, and pepper.

This Quinoa Chicken Curry made SO much food. I am going to be eating Quinoa Chicken Curry for days! The flavors of this were very layered. I could taste the tumeric, fennel seed, and curry the most, but none were overpowering. In fact, I was thinking the sauce could use a little something extra, although I can’t quite put my finger on what exactly that is.

Quinoa isn’t nearly as difficult to make as I had anticipated and turned out great. As it cooks, you’ll see the outer germ come loose from the seed (it kind of looks like little circles). This adds a nice texture to the overall dish.

I’m happy to have had the chance to try recipes from this cookbook, it makes quinoa more approachable. I will be sure to incorporate it into more future dishes!