Chicken Vege Curry with Cauliflower Rice

This Chicken Vege Curry with cauliflower rice recipe is very family-friendly, with mild curry flavours and packed full of vegetable goodness. You can use what ever vegetables you have in the fridge or garden, the key is to use plenty of them. If you wish you can substitute the chicken for chickpeas or another legume. I keep my mild curry mix in the pantry, so that I when I am finishing dinner preparation with the munchkins needing attention I don’t have to focus on measuring out several different spices. You can also mix up this simple base recipe by switching the mild curry mix for a red or green thai curry paste (check the ingredients for hidden sugar and other nasties) and by using different vegetables.

So far most of my posts have been yummy nutritious snacks to replace the sugar-laden ones we often reach for easily for ourselves or when packing the lunchboxes. Reducing or eliminating refined sugar has profound effects on a lot of people’s health, and I promise you we eat so well in this house it is certainly not boring or restrictive! Now that you know some of the things we snack on it is time to see some of our dinner recipes too.

Another thing that has profound effects on health and wellbeing is increasing your uptake of vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables. Many people have told me that they don’t know how to cook their vegetables, or are unsure how to make them interesting, and have loved posts such as the Pumpkin Pies, How to Cook Your Pumpkin, Getting Creative with Cauliflower, and the Vegetable Crisps.

We eat vegetables at most meals of the day, if not all, with a focus on greens and variety. I love this curry recipe, as I can throw in what ever vegetables we have in the house, lots of them, preferably non-starchy. I then serve with cauliflower rice and extra greens on the side, such as wilted bok choy or spinach, and of course a big helping of fermented vegetables for their probiotic goodness.

Preparation is easily done in advance, so it is perfect for busy families. Chop the chicken and veges the night before and store in the fridge, or if you are at-home do it during the day while the kids are resting, or better still get them to help! I have a fabulous fries/cubing attachment for my food processor which I use to cut all the veges for this, and the kids love helping pushing though a whole courgette and seeing it come out in little cubes. I find my children much more willing to try meals that they have helped cook, and enjoy being part of our grace before meals when they are thanked for preparing the food.

Once the prep work is done this only takes around 15-20 minutes to cook. The mild spices appeal to children, and this meal has been eaten by my children since they were around 9 months old – just remove a serving before adding salt and process it into a texture that is age/child appropriate, adding more liquid if necessary.

Chicken Vege Curry – serves 6

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 onion – finely diced
3 cloves garlic – crushed
2cm ginger, peeled and grated or finely chopped
400g free-range boneless chicken breast or thigh – cubed
1-2 tablespoons of mild curry mix (depending on how much spice you like)
Vegetables – use whatever you have on hand. I used:
2 courgettes – cubed
3 capsicums – one each of red, yellow and green – cubed
1 head of broccoli – cubed or chopped small
7-8 mushrooms – cubed
handful of green beans – chopped into 1 inch pieces
400ml coconut milk or cream
1 bunch of bok choy, spinach or other leafy green – rinsed well
1/2 cauliflower – grated

Method:

Prepare the chicken and all the vegetables
Heat the coconut oil in a large frypan/skillet, and cook the onion, garlic and ginger until softened
Add the diced chicken and cook, stirring, until the chicken is white all over
Stir through the curry mix and cook 1-2 minutes until fragrant
Add all your cubed vegetables to the pan, and stir until well combined and lightly coated in seasoning
Pour in the tin of coconut milk/cream, stir and cover with a lid.
This will take another 5-10 minutes to cook, depending on the size of your chicken and veges, and the type of veges you have used. Stir regularly and check the chicken is well cooked through before serving.
While the curry finishes cooking you can do your cauliflower rice. Simply heat 1 Tbsp coconut oil (or butter if you use it) in a medium frypan/skillet and stir through the grated cauliflower for 2-3 minutes. I like it while it still has a firm-ish texture. Add some sea salt to taste.
Rinse your leafy greens well and wilt them in a pan with the water that clings to the leaves.
Plate it up with the cauliflower rice on the bottom, chicken vegetable curry on top, and wilted green and fermented vegetables on the side.