Lemon Curry Chicken

Chef and Company started a cooking club this year and I was very excited to be around people who are as passionate about food as I am. We had our second meeting last week and it was so fun. We cooked lemon curry chicken with mango basmati rice salad.

I learned a few things that night. First of all, curry is from India. It actually means "gravy" not the powder in the spice jar that you and I are thinking of and see on the grocery store shelf. When the British were over in India, they wanted to take back the tastes of India, so they put together the spices that reminded them of that country. Curry in a spice jar is actually a combination of a bunch of different spices. Someday, I will have to find a place that has actual "gravy" curry or try to make it myself.

Second, basmati rice is also from India. I had never heard of it before. The name means "fragrant" and I have to admit it does have a nice aroma. Basmati rice is the most expensive and sought-after rice in the world. I found a box of it in the rice section of Cub Foods. It came with a packet of seasoning that I didn't use.

I have never cooked with ginger before, so that was different. But different is good! I love to try and find a new taste that I like. I bought a ginger root and I learned that you can grate the ginger, peel and all, and if you want to keep the rest, put it in a baggie in the freezer and it will keep for a long time. The next time you need some, just take it out and start grating, you don't even need to thaw it. So I went home and recreated the recipe. Here are a lot of the ingredients. Yes, my kitchen was a mess.
I have the rice cooling on a cookie sheet.And here is the recipe. Enjoy!

Chicken part:

-3 chicken breasts (I marinaded mine)

-2 cups of plain yogurt

-2 tablespoons of curry powder

-grated zest and juice of a lemon

-1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

-salt and pepper

Stir together yogurt, curry powder, lemon zest and juice, sesame oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add chicken and toss gently to coat with the yogurt marinade. You can either roast the chicken in the oven or put it on the grill. I grilled mine but we roasted it at the cooking class.

Mango basmati rice salad

-1 cup basmati rice

-1 inch piece of grated ginger

-1/2 pound of green beans

-1 small red onion

-1/4 cup cashews

-1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

-1 fresh mango, peeled, pitted and chopped

-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

-juice of 1/2 lemon

-salt and pepper to taste

Put rice with ginger in 2 cups of water, 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring to simmer over medium heat. Give rice a stir and turn hear to low, cover and cook for 12 minutes without lifting the lid. Spread cooked rice out on baking sheet and let cool to room temperature. Par cooked green beans and drop into ice water bath to keep the bright green color. Drain, cut beans in half. Chop the onion, cashews and mint leaves coarsely. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss gently. Taste for seasoning. Serve the chicken breast over the rice salad.