Cravings (Chicken Masala Recipe)

This week, for some reason, has been hard when it comes to taming my cravings. Maybe it's because it's been really cold and I've been resting (nurturing my fat as I call it, lol) but I have been craving a lot of things that I can't necessarily have. Mostly savory dishes. Luckily, I'm not a really big sweets person.

Yesterday, since I was feeling a whole lot better, Vince took me out to the movies to watch The Hunger Games. We ate dinner before we left the house so we would not be tempted to eat unhealthy (and expensive) stuff from the theater. When we were walking to the theater, I immediately smell the savory and delish aroma of Indian Food. Vince and I usually eat at this restaurant (one of my favorite Indian food Restaurant) when we are around this area. My mouth was watering and I was still thinking about it when we got out of the theater. 

On the drive home, I was thinking about how I could make a clean and healthier version of chicken curry/masala which is usually loaded with heavy cream and butter. By the time we got home, I had a plan! 

I took the chicken breast out of the fridge, trimmed the extra fat off and cut it into cubes. I marinated the chicken with 1/2 cup of non fat Greek yogurt, freshly grated ginger root and minced garlic and a tbsp of curry. I covered it and let it marinate in the fridge overnight. 

The next day, we had breakfast and cleaned up the apartment. I timed cooking the masala so by the time it's done, it's time to eat lunch! 

I finely chopped medium onion, 5 cloves of garlic and ginger (we always have ginger root and garlic in our house). Set aside. On a pan, I heated 1 tsp of coconut oil and toasted some ground cumin for a couple of minutes. I added my aromatics and cooked until the onions are translucent. I then added 1/2 tsp of turmeric, 1 tsp of chili powder and 1 tsp of curry powder. I let that cook for two minutes. The aroma of spices cooking was amazing! Vince was getting hungry smelling it! 

I then added the marinated chicken and let it cook for about 8 minutes until the chicken are golden brown. 

I then added about 1 cup of water, about 2 tbsp of garam masala and 3 bay leaves. I turn the heat down to medium low, covered it and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. 

I knew that I needed to get my greens in somehow so I looked into our fridge and see what kid of veggies I had on hand. Perfect! Snap peas! It'll add a beautiful color, crunch and nutrition to the dish!

I cut about 2 cups of snap peas in half and added to the dish along with 2 tbsp of Greek yogurt to thicken the sauce a bit. I let it simmer for about another 3 minutes (I don't want to over cook the snap peas, I like them crunchy).

I made sure that I portioned out the right amount of chicken and veggies for my meal on top of quinoa. 

It was delicious and packedful of flavor.

I was able to satisfy my craving for Indian food and still stayed with my diet and saved money! I had everything I needed to make this dish at home! 

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to keep your pantry stocked with dried herbs and spices. Most dried herbs and spices have no calories and the ones that do are so insignificant that you probably burn those calories cooking that delish food! They add so much flavor without all the calories and fat.