Carefree Gourmet

Here is a recipe that incorporates the following superfoods:

- Sweet Potatoes
- Tomatoes
- Ginger
- Turmeric
- Alums (Onions)

This recipe was based on a recipe found in the November 2009 issue of Cooking Light. I usually make a vegetarian curry with coconut milk. This recipe intrigued me because of the beautiful colors. Of course, I had to adapt it to my taste and preferences. Which is what you should do as well! I served it over Quinoa (Keen Wa) and Buckwheat Groats. I don’t eat white rice, but if you do, feel free to serve it over the traditional Basatmi rice.

Sweet Potato Chicken Curry
2 tsp of hot curry powder (you can get mild too!)
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1 bay leaf
2 TBL grape-seed oil
1 1/2 lbs organic free range chicken breast cut into 1 inch pieces
2 medium white or yellow onions sliced
2 tsp peeled, minced fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves
5 cups of organic chicken or vegetable stock
1 (14.5 ou) can of diced tomatoes, including liquid
2 cups (about four small) sweet potatoes (the orange ones add better color) cut into 1/2 cubes
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup of frozen peas
1 TBL fresh lemon juice

Combine the spices and place in a small bowl (curry, coriander, turmeric, black pepper, red pepper & bay leaf)

Heat oil in a heavy sauce pan or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chicken and brown (about 5 minutes), stirring occasionally. Remove chicken from pan and reduce heat to medium. Add the sliced onions and cook until tender (about 10 minutes), stirring frequently. Increase heat to medium high add chicken, ginger and garlic stirring continually for 1 minute then add the curry spice mixture and cook 2 more minutes, continuing to stir. Add broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and add the sweet potatoes and chickpeas cook for 45 minutes. Add the frozen peas and cook 5 minutes. (Don’t over cook the peas, they turn an ugly color and shrivel up!). If you are not going to serve this right away, wait to add the peas until you are ready to serve. Just reheat the chicken curry and then add the peas to heat through. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.

While curry is cooking, check the cooking direction on your quinoa, buckwheat groats or rice and time them to be ready when the curry is finished.

Enjoy!

How can a spice be a superfood? Why does Dr. Andrew Weil, Dr. Nicholas Perricone, and Oprah all praise this little spice best known for seasoning up curry dishes and making our well known hot dog topping, mustard, yellow? It is one of the best natural anti-inflammatories you can consume right next to ginger! And in fact, it is part of the ginger family. It is Turmeric!

It has an interesting history, dating back 4000 years used as a coloring for fabric, paper, wood, skin and food. It was first used by the Vedic culture in India as a culinary spice for religious ceremonies. It was used as a substitute for the very expensive saffron spice, even though it is not in the same family of spices strictly because it was both yellow and cheap! Medicinally it has been used by ayurvedic physicians to treat gastrointestinal and inflammatory ailments as well as applied topically to enhance skin health and tone. Topical ointments have been used in India to “treat joint pain, bruises, and a variety of skin disorders including infections, inflammation, blemishes, wounds, acne, boils, burns and eczema.” (Dr. Nicholas Perricone, The Perricone Promise

One of the special components of turmeric that is the antioxidant wonder is curcumin, which scientist refer to as curcuminoids. Curduminoids may prevent oxidation of blood fats better than synthetic antioxidant BHT based on test tube studies. Turmeric also contains a peptide called turmerine, a free-radical scavenger. And in studies where animals were fed curcuminoids, they found higher blood levels of glutathione-S-transferase, a key player in the body’s detoxification system.

What I found even more remarkable is that James A Duke, PhD, a highly respected ethnobotanist, identified turmeric as a better solution to preventing and alleviating serious diseases of Alzheimer’s, Arthritis, and Cancer than traditional pharmaceuticals!

* Alzheimer’s disease: Duke found more than 50 studies on turmeric’s effects in addressing Alzheimer’s disease. The reports indicate that extracts of turmeric contain a number of natural agents that block the formation of beta-amyloid, the substance responsible for the plaques that slowly obstruct cerebral function in Alzheimer’s disease.
* Arthritis: Turmeric contains more than two dozen anti-inflammatory compounds, including six different COX-2-inhibitors (the COX-2 enzyme promotes pain, swelling and inflammation; inhibitors selectively block that enzyme). By itself, writes Duke, curcumin – the component in turmeric most often cited for its healthful effects – is a multifaceted anti-inflammatory agent, and studies of the efficacy of curcumin have demonstrated positive changes in arthritic symptoms.
* Cancer: Duke found more than 200 citations for turmeric and cancer and more than 700 for curcumin and cancer. He noted that in the handbook Phytochemicals: Mechanisms of Action, curcumin and/or turmeric were effective in animal models in prevention and/or treatment of colon cancer, mammary cancer, prostate cancer, murine hepatocarcinogenesis (liver cancer in rats), esophageal cancer, and oral cancer. Duke said that the effectiveness of the herb against these cancers compared favorably with that reported for pharmaceuticals. Dr. Andrew Weil, DrAndrewWeil.com

There is so much more information about the significant value of turmeric on the body that I could practically write a book! But I can’t, Pam and I already are busy doing just that! Bottom line, you want to add turmeric to your spice rack and USE it!! Our curry recipe is just one of the many recipes available that use this spice. Google it and get cooking!