A Healthy Chicken Tikka Masala + Indian-Spiced Kale with Chickpeas

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Indian food is so delicious, but you might not deem it healthy and only save it for a cheat day. But I beg you to think differently! If you cook curry in your own kitchen (it’s not daunting at all), you can see exactly what’s going into it, and it can not only be diet friendly, but extremely healthy to boot. My recipe below uses little in the way of saturated fat, and only utilizes a few tablespoons of peanut oil and a little bit of yogurt. The results? Exceptional.

I hear the word “clean eats” being thrown around a lot, but I think it’s a term that is not well-defined and can be misleading. Some might think that “clean eats” is only eating raw, or only eating really basic foods, liked steamed chicken breast and broccoli.

I am here to tell you that this chicken tikka masala meets MY definition of clean eats. This is because the dish is well-balanced with protein, carbs, and fat, and has several spices and herbs that are super good for you. While turmeric and garlic are anti-inflammatory, cumin and cayenne may promote weight loss, fenugreek is rich in minerals, and garam masala is a wonderful mix of several extremely healthful spices. Studies have shown many spices used in Indian cuisine also serve as antioxidants and may play a role in cancer prevention.

So here is my recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala. I’ve also paired it with a recipe from EatingWell that is a great way to use up any kale you have growing in your garden! Plus the garbanzos add just a little extra fiber to really round out this dish.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Time: 1 Hour
Serves 4

Ingredients
1.5 lbs chicken thighs, poked with a fork, cut into 1 inch pieces
6 tbsp Tandoori Paste
2 tbsp Greek yogurt
Peanut Oil
1 large onion, sliced
2-3 serrano chilis, deseeded, chopped
1″ piece of ginger, peeled, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp cayenne (or more to taste)
2 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1 lb roma tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
5 cashews (optional)
4 tbsp Greek yoghurt
1 cup cilantro, chopped
Steamed basmati rice + mint chutney, to serve

Directions
Preheat oven to 400F.

Add chicken, tandoori paste, and Greek yogurt to a medium bowl and mix thoroughly. Transfer to refrigerator and let marinate for at least 20-30 minutes.

Transfer chicken to a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and browned.

Meanwhile, heat two tablespoons of peanut oil in a pan. Add onion and sauté until soft, about 4-6 minutes. Add serrano chilis, ginger, garlic, and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Then add turmeric, cayenne, garam masala, and sugar and cook for 1-2 minutes. Next, add the tomatoes, tomato paste, fenugreek, and cook for a few more minutes.

Transfer the sauce to a food processor with cashews and blend until very smooth.

Return sauce to the same pan and add 1 tbsp peanut oil. Add chicken and its juices to the pan to reheat. Stir in yogurt and 1/2 cup cilantro. Serve with mint chutney over rice.

Indian-Spiced Kale & Chickpeas

Time: 25 Minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-1 1/2 pounds kale, ribs removed, coarsely chopped (see Tip)
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth, or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon garam masala, (see Ingredient note)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed

Directions
Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add kale and cook, tossing with two large spoons, until bright green, about 1 minute. Add broth, coriander, cumin, garam masala and salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the kale is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in chickpeas; cover and cook until the chickpeas are heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.

An Ethiopian Feast Fit for a Sunday: Doro Wot with Gomen

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Ethiopian food is one of my favorite cuisines. It might be because I’m allowed to eat with my hands (with a little injera as my utensil), which makes me feel just a little more connected with my food than usual. But it’s mostly because it’s tasty! If you haven’t tried it before, it could be your favorite cuisine too. The flavor profiles are similar to Mexican and Indian and the dishes are imbued with healthy spices that are addicting to boot.

Luckily in 2016, the spices in my recipes below (berbere, fenugreek, korerima, tikur azmud), butter (niter kibbeh), and bread (injera) can be purchased online if you don’t live near a local Ethiopian market (do Yelp your local metropolitan area to find out). If purcashing online, try amazon.com and ethiopianspices.com for spices and pureindianfoods.com for niter kibbeh. Injera can also be found at ethopianspices.com, but I just found a listing on Etsy from Fassica’s store that offers 100% teff, which is most authentic, and what I prefer. You can fold the injera over a couple times and freeze any leftovers for your next meal. We typically use a little over one injera per person. So if you’re serving four people, you’ll need about five.

Now for those of you who don’t mind putting a little time into your Ethiopian pantry, you can make your own berbere, kibbeh, and injera. Recipes aplenty exist online for berbere and kibbeh, but for injera, take a trip over to Avery Moore’s YouTube Channel where I learned how to make injera perfectly. Written instructions are on her blog, which are great to pair with the video instructions. It’s just a little bit of work for impressive rewards and some serious bragging rights. You don’t need the injera cookware that she uses either. I’ve used a large non-stick frittata pan without a problem.

Okay, so what do you do when you’ve read this post and have purchased the ingredients? You make a feast, of course! Below is a recipe for one of my favorite Ethiopian platters. It’s absolutely delicious and I promise that if you follow the instructions, you can prepare restaurant-quality Ethiopian cuisine in your home kitchen.

An Ethiopian Feast Fit For a Sunday

Time: 2 Hours
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

Gomen
1 large or 2 small bunches collard greens or kale, roughly chopped
2 medium yellow onions, minced
1/4 cup niter kibbeh (Clarified Ethiopian butter)
2 medium roma tomatoes, chopped
2 jalapeños or 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp fresh garlic, minced
1 tbsp tikur azmud (a.k.a. black seed, black cumin; nigella)
2 cups warm water
Salt, to taste

Doro Wot
1.5 lbs chicken pieces (boneless thigh, legs)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp salt
2 onions, minced
1/3 cup berbere
5 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbsp niter kibbeh (Clarified Ethiopian butter)
1 tsp ginger root, minced
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds, ground
1/4 tsp korerima, ground (varied spellings; a.k.a. Ethiopian Cardamom)
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup dry red wine
3/4 cup water
4-6 eggs (older eggs = easier peel)
2 tbsp vinegar
1/2 tbsp salt
Ice, for ice water bath
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Salad
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
1 medium tomato, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1-2 jalapeños, finely chopped or 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
4 oz Danish white cheese or feta, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
Olive oil & vinegar salad dressing, to taste (about 3 tbsp)

To Serve
Injera, 5 rounds

Directions
In a medium mixing bowl, rub chicken with lemon juice and salt. Cover and place bowl in refrigerator to marinate while preparing the rest of the dish.

To prepare Gomen, in a large saucepan, add onions over low heat without oil, and stir occasionally, for 15-20 minutes, until golden. Add tomatoes, jalapeños, garlic, and tikur azmud, and cook for 2 minutes. Add kibbeh, and cook for 5 minutes. Add greens and water and simmer until tender for 35-45 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.

Meanwhile, prepare Doro Wot. In a large dutch oven, cook onions over low heat, stirring occasionally until golden, for about 15-20 minutes. Add berbere, garlic, and 1/4 cup water and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in kibbeh and sauté for 2 minutes. Add remaining spices, 1/4 cup water, and sauté for 3-5 minutes. Add wine, 1/4 cup water, and bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, on a high simmer for 5 minutes. Add reserved chicken and coat with sauce, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

While chicken simmers, start eggs in saucepan with 6 cups water, vinegar, and salt, and heat uncovered to a 180F simmer (e.g. bubbles should just begin to break the surface). Shut off the heat and leave on burner for 10 minutes, and prepare an ice water bath. When eggs are done, add to bath and let sit for 5 minutes to cool. Carefully peel eggs and pierce with a fork on all sides and reserve.

Prepare salad by adding all ingredients to a large bowl. Mix and set aside.

When the chicken is tender and the sauce has thickened, add eggs and simmer until eggs have soaked up the sauce, about 5 minutes. Add black pepper and remove from heat.

Serve Gomen, Doro Wot, and the salad over injera with extra rolls of injera on the side.

Kale Mojito Smoothie

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Per The Weather Channel, it’s quite temperate outside, but it sure isn’t at our house! We’re south-facing and the sun really hits hard for most of the day. That’s great for our garden, but not for my own hydration, so I really needed this refreshing smoothie to perk me up for my gym session in a couple hours.

To make it, I looked no further than my garden to grab the bulk of the ingredients: kale and mint. Then I added some local honey, citrus from the pantry, and finished it off with a little coconut water and ice. Yum! While just about everyone knows that kale is essentially a superfood, I’m not sure everyone knows how tasty and easy it is to blend up with just a few ingredients!

Kale Mojito Smoothie

Serves: 1-2
Time: 5 Minutes

Ingredients
2 medium kale leaves, stemmed
1/4 cup fresh mint, stemmed
Juice of 2-3 limes
1/2 tsp lime zest
2 tbsp honey
2/3 cup coconut water
2-3 cups ice cubes

Directions
Combine the first six ingredients in a blender. Then add ice on top. Blend on high until smooth.