Monday, February 28, 2011

Recipe Review- Breaded Tandoori Chicken

Wow, its been a while, hasn't it. Much has changed. I learned that cooking ahead doesn't work for us. In my early stages of this pregnancy, I couldn't even grocery shop more than 2 days worth at a time because I had no idea what I'd be willing to eat that far in advance. Now things have calmed down, so I'm trying out some new recipes.

At some point I signed up for a subscription to Clean Eating Magazine. They haven't posted this recipe for Breaded Tandoori Chicken yet, and I tweaked it to add some much needed salt (sorry, its so true), so I have to retype it anyway. I'll also admit that I didn't make the veggies because I can't stomach any more carrots today. I plan to use the veggie portion with another recipe later, though.

This was pretty easy to make, despite all the steps and the limited space in my kitchen. Prep is key. In short, I loved it, and I'll make it again, for these reasons:

  1. What is not to like about toasted pita with feta? nothing, I tell you. It was the best part!
  2. The chicken was insanely delicious for chicken, which I haven't been able to stomach for weeks now. It was very flavorful.
  3. I want to re-try the tandoori sauce with a finer dice of onions, so its not so chunky. I have a problem with the texture I got. 
  4. The boy loved it. Hands down, no complaints, loved it. That's good enough for me. 

So try it, love it, or let me know what you think. I'm generally not very excited about Indian food or curry, but this was awesome.

Baked Tandoori Chicken

Baked Tandoori Chicken

Adapted from Clean Eating Magazine, March 2011, page 74

Ingredients:
3 whole wheat pitas
4 oz reduced fat feta cheese
2 tsp curry powder, divided
2 egg whites
1/2 lb green beans, trimmed
2 large carrots, cut into 1 in long matchsticks (or precut, whatever)
3 tsp olive oil, divided
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 small, tiny yellow onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, pressed or finely diced
4 oz nonfat plain greek yogurt
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, butterflied until 1/2" thick, cut into at least 4 portions
Dried parsley for garnish
2 dashes of salt

Directions:

  • Preheat overn to 350 F. Use a knife to cut along the edges of 2 pitas, separating each into 2 circular halves. Lay 4 halves on a baking sheet or 2, and crumble 1 oz feta on each pita. Bake for 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside. Sprinkle with dried parsley
  • Rip remaining pita into bitesize pieces and pulse in a food processor until the pieces have become medium-fine bread crumbs. In a flat bottomed bowl, combine the bread crumbs with 1 tsp curry powder and a dash of kosher salt. Place egg whites in another flat bottomed bowl, beat until frothy with a fork, and set aside both bowls.
  • Fill a medium pot halfway with water and bring to a boil on high heat. Add beans and carrots. Reduce heat to medium high and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain. Toss in 1 tsp oil and ginger and set aside.
  • Heat one tsp oil in a medium skillet on medium for one minute. Add onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add garlic and remaining tsp of curry, and a dash of salt and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat, stir in yogurt, and set aside. 
  • Heat one tsp oil in a large nonstick pan for 1 minute. (I used stainless, but it burnt, so go for the nonstick). Dip the chicken in egg white, then into the bread crumbs, and then directly into the pan. You may need to do this in batches. Cook 3 minutes on one side and 2 minutes on the other, or until done. The thinner you butterflied your chicken the faster it will go. 
  • Serve 4oz of the chicken (so 1/4 of the total) with 2 tbsp tandoori sauce (yogurt), 1 pita half, and 1/2 cup of the beans/carrots
Nutrition Info:
Calories: 333
Total Fat: 9g
Sat Fat: 3g
Monounsaturated Fat: 3g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Carbs 38g
Fiber 5g
Sugars 4g
Protein 40g
Sodium +612mg (because I added a little salt)
Cholesterol 75mg