We had our lovely blogging team over for our annual holiday dinner the other night! Here’s the crew (at least those of us who live in Charlotte). I feel SO lucky to have had these talented individuals on our team for years now.
My #dreamteam from the left: Amy Taylor (comment moderator), Kiran Smith (Advertising Manager), Me!, Shawn Keller (Facebook and Pinterest Moderator), and Jason (my husband and Operations Manager)
Everyone brought their spouse along, and let’s just say that I was hurting the next day. It’s amazing how I no longer feel like I’m in my 20’s after a fun night like that!
Aside from the fun, we enjoyed some great food as well. We do these holiday events potluck style because we’re a bunch of foodies after all! And as I’ve shared in the past, we’ve got some food allergies and sensitivities in the group, so picking a theme for the menu is always interesting. This year I chose Indian food because I thought we could easily avoid dairy and gluten (and any other offenders) and still end up with something tasty. Oh, and I’d been working on a Tandoori Chicken recipe that I just knew would be a perfect fit for the main course!
Here’s what was served…is your mouth watering yet?
Menu Details
- Amy was in charge of appetizers and brought two deeelicious dips: Pomegranate Avocado Salsa and an eggplant dip both served with whole-grain crackers. This is how she made the eggplant dip: Cut 1 eggplant, 2 bell peppers, and 1 red onion into 1 inch cubes. Toss them in bowl with 2 minced cloves of garlic, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt & 1/2 teaspoon black pepper then roast at 400 degrees F for about 45 min. – until the veggies are lightly browned and soft, tossing once during cooking. Place the veggies in a food processor , add 1 tablespoon tomato paste and pulse 3 or 4 times to blend.
- Shawn brought a huuuge salad with two homemade dressings and roasted chickpeas to go on top. The salad was a big mix of veggies (no particular recipe), and for her creamy dressing, she blended 1 cup cashew cream (from the Deliciously Organic cookbook), 3 teaspoons curry powder, 1 clove garlic, and juice from half a Meyer lemon, and then drizzled in olive oil until she got the right consistency.
- Kiran brought Chana Masala along with a tomato and onion side salad. She is half Indian, so she was excited to share these traditional dishes with us!
- As I mentioned, I made an easy dairy-free Tandoori Chicken (recipe below) with brown rice.
- And my husband (yes, he can cook!) made Coconut Milk Ice Cream with cardamom and pistachios.
It was all soooo good – I was literally STUFFED by the end of the night! And luckily, since I tripled the chicken recipe, we had leftovers the next day that my whole family gobbled up in no time. This one is definitely going to be a new staple at our house. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Weeknight Tandoori Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, (or coconut oil)
- 1 13-oz can coconut milk
- 1 8-oz can tomato sauce, plain
- 2 ounces spinach, fresh
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the garlic powder, coriander, cumin, ginger, salt, and cayenne with a fork. Dredge each piece of chicken in the spices and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken, sprinkle any remaining spices on top, and sear for a couple of minutes until golden brown on both sides.
- Add the coconut milk and tomato sauce to the pan, bring to a boil, cover with a lid, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the chicken is done all the way through (no longer pink), about 8 - 10 minutes.
- Layer in bowls with brown rice on the bottom, then spinach, chicken, sauce, yogurt, and fresh herbs. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Recommended accompaniments: cilantro, fresh mint, brown rice, plain yogurt (omit the yogurt to be dairy-free)
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake
Wow this is such a creative recipe! Beautiful pictures by the way! :)
Can I just check that if you mean “Tomato Sauce” as in Ketchup or are you meaning something more like passata? In New Zealand “tomato sauce” is something we eat on sausages and hot chips. Thanks
Hi. Here is an example: http://www.muirglen.com/product/organic-tomato-sauce-8oz/.
Sorry but this is not tandoori chicken. I don’t get why you’d use that name when the tandoori chicken is nothing like that dish.
This was delicious! I was a little unsure about using fresh garlic and ginger instead of powdered, but it turned out beautifully. We used a grilled medley of summer vegetables to accompany the chicken and brown rice, and it was amazing! Thank you for sharing such a delightfully delicious new way to cook up chicken!
So I’m making this tonight but saw yogurt mentioned in the comments…I’m only seeing coconut milk in the recipe posted. Did the recipe change? Or do I need to go get yogurt?
Yogurt can be used as a topping but is not necessary.