Charby's Sexy Curry (Healthy Recipes)

Member Name: charby

Product:	Healthy Recipes
Date:	23/05/09 (108 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tastes nice, good for you, versatile

Disadvantages: None

Although I've posted this recipe under 'Healthy Recipes', the truth is that it's totally up to you how healthy you want to make it. This meal is something that I make quite often, although not always with exactly the same ingredients, as it depends on what I'm in the mood for or what ingredients I have available. The basic idea is basically the same each time though: a healthy, sexy curry, packed full of things that are good for you. Most of the measurements aren't exact, as it depends on how many people you're cooking for, how hungry you are, and how much of the ingredients you have, so just put in what you can or what feels right.

*Charby's Sexy Curry*

Serves: 1-2 people

Ingredients:

-Rougly 100g per person of meat or seafood (for example beef, chicken, prawns, quorn, or chorizo if you're feeling adventurous) or a mixture
-One or two cloves of garlic, crushed
-One tin of chopped tomatoes per person (or less if you're eating this with rice or another accompaniment)
-Natural yoghurt (as much as is to your taste - get a whole pot to be safe)
-Spices: Turmeric, cayenne pepper (or chillis), cumin and a dash of ginger
-Olive oil (small amount, just for frying)
-Cauliflower (again, as much as you want)
-Desiccated or creamed coconut, for taste
-Honey, if you like your curry to be sweet


Instructions:

1. First of all, make sure that all of your ingredients are ready before starting to cook, as things can burn while you're opening tins of tomatoes or searching for spices, etc. Crush the garlic not long before you start cooking, so that there is still a lot of its juice left.

2. Add a small amount of olive oil to a pan (a large pan is best, especially if cooking for many people) and put on a high heat. Once the oil has heated up, add your meat or seafood, and fry until sealed or very hot.

3. Add the garlic and a dash of turmeric or another spice, and fry for another 20 seconds or so.

4. Add the tomatoes to the pan, and turn down the heat slightly, so that it can simmer but not boil.

5. Add all the other spices that you want. I never measure spices, and just chuck in as much as I think will taste nice, but if you're unsure, add them a little at the time and keep tasting the curry until you've reached enough.

6. Add some natural yoghurt if you wish, until the tomatoes have a more pinky colour. Again, this is a matter of taste, and if you'd rather the curry tasted creamy or more tomatoey. This is a good ingredient for if you've added too much spice, as it'll take away some of the spiciness.

7. Add the cauliflower. I normally use frozen cauliflowers florets, which cook within 8 minutes or so in the hot tomatoes, but if you're using fresh it will take slightly less time. If you're using frozen like me, you could add them before the yoghurt and other ingredients to give them more time to cook, but it's not essential.

8. Add coconut if you like, or a spoonful of honey if you would like your food to be a bit sweeter. I don't always add honey when I cook this, but I do prefer it when I have, but again it depends on taste.

9. Around 10 minutes after you added the tomatoes, your curry should be done. I would recommend checking the meat before eating though, as it could take a few more minutes before it's cooked through, depending on what you're eating. I often use frozen prawns which have been pre-cooked, so they cook very quickly, and are safe to eat at any stage, but if you're using poultry you'll obviously have to be more careful.

10. Serve! I normally just have this in a bowl by itself, but it would be very nice with some rice or naan bread, though obviously this would make the meal less healthy.


*How this meal is healthy*

I invented this recipe by cooking together lots of ingredients that I had read about and know to be healthy, and so by combining many of these, you have a curry which is not only tasty but very good for you. Here are some of the ingredients are their healthy benefits:

Spices: After reading this article http://www.care2.com/greenliving/5-cancer-fighting -spices.html about spices that can help to reduce your chances of getting cancer, I decided to eat them as often as possible. Of the five mentioned in the article, three of them (turmeric, ginger and garlic) are in the curry, and so will hopefully help to reduce your chances of getting this illness. Cumin also has many supposed health benefits, as well as tasting amazing, so I use it as well.

Tomatoes: As well as being one of your five a day, tomatoes contain lycopene, which is an antioxidant and can neutralise free radicals. Other benefits of tomatoes can be read about here http://www.essortment.com/all/healthbenefits_rbdh. htm

Cauliflower: As well as being one of your five a day, cauliflowers have many other benefits: http://www.essortment.com/all/cauliflowernut_rwuv. htm . Although this article says that they are best eaten raw, they will still be healthy as part of this curry.

Yoghurt: yoghurt contains a large about of calcium, which is essential for strong bones and teeth. Research has also shown that calcium can also help with weight loss, which is another great benefit.

Honey: with its antiseptic qualities, honey is a much better sweetener than sugar, which is why I've recommend it as a sweetener for this curry.


So, as you can see, this recipe will make a very healthy curry that is very tasty as well. To make it even healthier, use prawns or lean meat, and if you're going to use chicken, make sure that it's free range, for health benefits, and to improve the welfare of these animals. This recipe can be altered as much as you like, as I never stick to a hard and fast recipe while cooking, so for me at least, it never gets boring. I hope that you give this recipe a go sometime, and that you've enjoyed reading it.

Summary: A customisable recipe for a healthy meal