Chicken, Eggplant, and Tomato Curry

Here's a complete, satisfying meal with veggies, protein, and a starch.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 8 Gardein Tuscan chicken breasts (without sauce)
• 3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 5 cups coarsely chopped eggplant
• 1 and 2/3 cups thinly sliced onion
• 1 and 1/2 cups (1/4-inch thick) sliced green bell pepper
• 3/4 cup tomato juice
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 4 cups hot cooked rice

1. Combine the curry powder, salt, and paprika in a shallow dish.  Dredge the Gardein chicken in the curry mixture.

2. Heat 1 and 1/2 teaspoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add 4 of the chicken pieces; cook for 5 minutes on each side, until browned.  Remove the chicken from the pan, and repeat the process with the remaining 1 and 1/2 teaspoons oil and the remaining chicken.  Remove the chicken from the pan.

3. Add the eggplant, onion, and green bell pepper to the pan; cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.  Return the chicken to the pan, along with the tomato juice, crushed red pepper, and garlic.  Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 35 minutes.

You can cook the rice while the curry is simmering, and then serve the chicken and vegetables directly over the rice.  Sprinkle a little extra crushed red pepper on top if you like extra heat.

Nutrition Info:
8 servings (1 chicken breast, 1/3 cup vegetables, 1/2 cup rice), Calories 310

Tasting Notes:
There was great curry flavor to this dish, and the eggplant was cooked to perfection, but I would make a couple of changes so it's even better next time.  First, I would definitely double the amount of tomato juice, and might add chopped tomatoes into the mix as well to heighten the tomato flavor.  I also think the dish would have benefited from plain non-dairy yogurt stirred in toward the end, to thicken the curry.  Finally, I didn't love leaving the chicken pieces intact.  Next time I would chop the chicken before returning it to the saucepan, so that this dish could be served family-style with a big ladle, rather than plating one chicken piece per serving.

Rating:
3.5