Sweet Potato Chicken Curry

I'm posting this in honor of DP's birthday, because he likes it enough to request it as a birthday meal. And it's totally and completely delicious. I will tell you that this dish is equally good with and without the curry. I make it both ways, just depending on what we're in the mood for. I have never used turmeric just because I never have it, but someday I will buy it so I'm keeping it in the recipe.

Also. I always always make this in the crockpot, so I've never followed these instructions precisely. But because I love you a lot, I typed it up so you can choose between the original method or the crockpot method. You will serve this over rice, and it's also delicious with a side of flatbread from OBB.

Oh goodness. You really need to make this! It's one of our favorite dishes. Oh, and it originally came from Cooking Light.


Sweet Potato Chicken Curry
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
1.5 tsp olive oil
1.5 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
1.5 cups vertically sliced onion
1.5 tsp minced peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves
1 14-oz can chicken broth
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled sweet potato
3/4 cup canned chickpeas, rise and drained
1 cup frozen green peas
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Combine curry powder, coriander, turmeric, salt, black pepper, and bay leaf in a small bowl.

Heat oil in a large Dutch over over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; saute 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove chicken from pan. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion to pan; cook 10 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Increase heat to medium-high; return chicken to pan. Cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally.

Stir in ginger and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add curry powder mixture; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour. Stir in potato and chickpeas. Cook, uncovered, 30 minutes. Add peas; cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice. Discard bay leaf. Serve over rice.

Crockpot Instructions
Saute onions and garlic; put in crockpot. Don't cut up the chicken! Just brown it, adding spices (including ginger) for last minute or two as instructed above. This really makes a huge difference in the flavor. Put it all in the crockpot and then add sweet potatoes, chicken broth, tomatoes, and chickpeas. I usually just do a whole can of chickpeas (or about 1.5 cups if I've cooked the chickpeas in advance).

Cook on low or high, depending on how much time you have. Today I'm doing high for about 4.5 hours. This will result in the most tender, pull-apart chicken ever. About half an hour before you want to eat, remove the chicken and dice it up. Don't shred it exactly; you just want chunks. Add the peas and finish cooking. Right before you serve this, stir in the lemon juice.