Curry chicken a fast, savory dish

Add a little curry powder to roasted chicken and vegetables for a quick, tasty dinner.

For this quick meal, I used curry powder from the supermarket spice section. Strictly speaking, prepared curry powder doesn’t really exist in India. Good cooks prefer to make their own blend of spices using the freshest ingredients. The curry powder found in the markets should be used within 3 to 4 months. After that it loses some of its flavor.

Curried chicken

Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer; serves 2.

2 teaspoons canola oil

1/2 tablespoon curry powder

1 cup diced onion

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 cups green beans, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 tart apple (Granny Smith), cored and cut into cubes (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth

10 ounces cooked chicken breast cut into 1/2- to 1-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)

1/4 cup raisins

1 medium tomato cut into small wedges

1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the curry powder, onion, garlic, green beans and apple. Saute 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir until absorbed by vegetables, about 30 seconds. Add the broth and simmer until broth thickens, 2 minutes. Stir in the chicken, raisins and tomatoes. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes to warm the chicken. Remove from heat and stir in the yogurt, cinnamon and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice.

Linda Gassenheimer is the author, most recently, of “Delicious One-Pot Dishes,” featuring 60 recipes designed to be stewed, braised, slow-cooked or steamed, each in a single pot. Additional titles by Gassenheimer include “Quick and Easy Chicken,” “Simply Smoothies: Fresh & Fast Diabetes-Friendly Snacks & Complete Meals,” “Fast and Flavorful: Great Diabetes Meals from Market to Table” and “The Flavors of the Florida Keys.” Her website is www.dinnerinminutes.com; email her at linda@dinnerinminutes.com.