Korma curry simmer sauce eggplant and chicken

Okay, we admit it, we are loyal Trader Joe customers and must have our weekly fix to remain content suburbanites here on the philly Main Line. So many interesting temptations from so many world cuisines, and at reasonable prices, and often more healthy than regular supermarket fare. With quick but nutritious weeknight meals in mind, bob snagged a bottle of simmer sauce to use with those Costco chicken breasts we picked up and split with the in-laws. A few narrow but regular eggplants seemed like a great pairing (and could even stand alone for a vegetarian makeover). The fat eggplants often have darker prominent seeds.

Well, as a pseudo-Indian dinner there had to be rice with this lineup, and Trader Joe has many choices in the quick but brown rice category. This time we used their brown Jasmine rice, okay, it was not the 5 minute deal but some 25 minutes to completion. Not a problem since simmering means leaving the stuff on the stove for a while anyway. Ani did it the Armenian rice way, first sautéing some No Yolk thin egg noodles we'd spotted in a supermarket in some butter (not too much!) and then the rice, and then adding in the water to cook them together. And with rice we need yogurt, this time non fat Greek yogurt, another Trader Joe staple. The Tandoor Chef garlic naan bread that spent a little too much time waiting in the freezer finally got to come out and finished off the Trader Joe ingredient list for the meal. 

ingredients

2 narrow but regular eggplants or the equivalent, peeled and cubed (under 1/2 in sides)

1 T olive oil

2T vegetable oil

1 lb boneless chicken (2 chicken breasts), cubed in bite-sized pieces

2 T olive oil

salt and pepper, paprika to taste

6 cloves garlic, pressed

1 Jalapeño pepper, chopped finely

1 15oz jar Korma simmer sauce

1 c healthy rice

1/2 c egg noodles

3 T butter

2 1/2 c water

salt to taste (1 t?)

instructions

1. Prepare peeled cubed eggplant and the cubed chicken, sprinkling the latter with salt, pepper and paprika to taste.
2. Brown the eggplant cubes in the olive and vegetable oils in a wide flat bottom nonstick pot, 5-10 minutes, then remove and drain on paper towels.
3. Then add 2 T olive oil to the pot and brown the chicken, 10 minutes?
4. Add back in the eggplant and throw in the garlic and pepper and simmer sauce and let simmer on low heat for maybe 30-45 minutes while the rice is prepared.
5. Saute the noodles in the butter until browned, then add in the rice and saute a minute or two to suck up some flavor from the butter, then add in the water and bring to a boil and cook covered about 25 minutes or so until the water is absorbed.
6. Turn off the heat, cover with a paper towel and then the cover and let the rice rest a few minutes.
7. Serve the main dish with the rice on the side with some yogurt as a  contrasting sauce.

notes

1. Trader Joe's. Too bad if it hasn't come to your neighborhood yet.
2. Tandoor Chef. Until we learn to cook Indian, this will have to do.
3. No Yolks cholesterol free (low fat, low sodium) egg noodle substitute. Every little bit counts.
4. Illustrations available.