Chicken and Green Bean Curry #recipe from @MaddieDayAuthor #giveaway

MADDIE DAY here, and I know, it's Friday the 13th. But don't worry, this supper won't bring you bad luck!

We still have fresh green beans from our farm share. Like many of us, I get in a rut for idea about what to make for dinner. I'd recently done a teensy, unambitious rearrange of part of our pantry. I'd spied a jar of chutney and another of a curry sauce from Trader Joes, so I had Indian food on my mind.  And what better to pair a homemade curry sauce with than crunchy green beans?

One person in our household (not me, and there are only two of us) has trouble with small seeds getting stuck in his teeth. I have two Indian food cookbooks by Madhur Jaffrey that I love, but most recipes involve sauteeing cumin and mustard seeds. 

Instead, I found a recipe online from the British Heart Foundation. Hugh and I are both in our seventies, so a heart-healthy recipe is a win-win. Being me, I adapted a bit. (I'm not sure sour cream is really part of the program, but a half cup of sour cream is isn't much spread across two or four servings, and I'm all about moderation in all things. Except wine...)

Chicken Curry with Green Beans

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1/2 inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

4-5 teaspoons medium curry powder (or paste)

2-4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/2 cup chicken stock

4 tablespoons sour cream

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 in lengths

Chopped fresh cilantro, to garnish (optional)

Heat oil in a non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and fresh ginger.

Cook gently for about 5 minutes or until onion begins to soften, stirring occasionally. Stir in curry powder; cook for 1 minute, stirring. 

Add chicken; cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes or until chicken is lightly colored all over, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook for one minute, stirring.

Stir in stock, tomato puree, and black pepper. Bring to a simmer, stirring; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Stir in sour cream and green beans; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for a further 10-15 minutes or until chicken and beans are cooked and tender.

Garnish with chopped coriander, if desired. Serve over cooked brown rice.

You could also slide in cooked chicken if you have it, or substitute broccoli or another green vegetable. Don't skimp on the curry powder or ginger, though - they give the dish that classic flavor.

If pescatarian Cece Barton in California substituted chick peas for the chicken in this recipe, she could also enjoy the curry for dinner. 

I'm excited to announce that I received a dozen advance copies of Deadly Crush, the second Cece Barton mystery, in the mail last week! They're not doing any good sitting in a pile in my office, so I'll send one to a commenter today.

Readers: What's your favorite international dish?

🐔🍛🍃

Murder at the Rusty Anchor is out and available wherever books are sold!

My most recent releases are A Case for the Ladies.

And Deep Fried Death, #12 in the Country Store Mysteries.

And Murder Uncorked, Cece Barton Mystery #1, which released in late October.

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We hope you'll visit Maddie and her Agatha Award-winning alter ego Edith Maxwell on our web site, sign up for our monthly newsletter, visit us on social media, and check our all our books and short stories.

Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha Award-winning and bestselling author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and also writes award-winning short crime fiction. She lives with her beau and sweet cat Martin north of Boston, where she’s currently working on her next mystery when she isn’t cooking up something delectable in the kitchen.