Warm up with a curry!

Thai Peanut Curry

For Sauce:

1 Can Pumpkin Puree

14 oz Coconut Milk

1/4 C Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

1/4 C Creamy Peanut Butter

2 Tbs Red Curry Paste

1 T Soy Sauce

1 T Grated Fresh Ginger or 1 tsp Powdered Ginger

2 tsp Curry Powder

For Protein:

1 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken breast, cut into 1/2" cubes (Tofu would also work really well in this recipe for my veggie/vegan friends!)

For Rice:

1 C Jasmine or White Rice

1 C Coconut Milk

1 C Water

1/2 C Shredded Sweetened Coconut (Optional)

Arils of 1 Pomegranate

For Garnish:

Chopped, Salted Peanuts

Chopped, Fresh Cilantro

Extra Pomegranate Arils

In a medium bowl or 8 C mixing cup, blend together all of the sauce ingredients. Set mixture aside.

Heat a tablespoon of vegetable or olive oil in a very large skillet or a large sauce pan over medium heat, When oil is hot, add cubed chicken (or tofu) and cook until protein is cooked through or tofu is browned.

Add sauce mixture to the skillet with the chicken, and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes or until sauce thickens a good bit.

While sauce is cooking, prepare the rice. Add the rice, coconut milk, water, and shredded coconut to a sauce pan with a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. When you reach a boil, stir the rice to be sure it is loosened from the bottom of the pan and reduce heat to low. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for about 12 minutes (if using Jasmine rice) or until rice is cooked through. If you are using regular white rice, it may take a bit longer to cook.

When the rice is cooked, fluff with a fork and stir to mix in the coconut. Gently stir in the pomegranate arils just before serving.

To serve, divide the rice between 4 plates, and divide the chicken and sauce between the 4 plates. Garnish with chopped peanuts, cilantro, and pomegranate perils.

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This recipe is my take on a recipe from Half Baked Harvest, and is one of our very favorites when pomegranate season rolls around. Did you know they even had a season? They do! Coincidentally, they come out of hiding right when the leaves start to blush and a chill first creeps into the air. Perfect timing, pomegranates! As an added bonus, it is visually stunning! A total knockout and absolutely special guest worthy!

There are some crucial things that I need to tell you about this recipe. First of all, if you hate pumpkin, I need you to push that hate aside for ten minutes. I promise - this absolutely does not taste like pumpkin at all! Honestly, pumpkin doesn't really have much flavor to speak of. Pumpkin spice EVERYTHING in the fall literally has zero to do with actual pumpkin! It's all about the spice...which I am not a fan of at all!! Also, if you hate everything curry, please consider at least giving this a try. I have fed this to pumpkin haters (Mr. Sutton, for one) and curry haters alike, and both groups adored it! The original recipe called for cubed pumpkin. Honestly, I'm not likely to fight a pumpkin to get cubes. The canned stuff works just dandy in this dish, and it makes for a velvety sauce that is full of fiber. It also keeps this a relatively low fat dish. Tricky, huh?

For Thanksgiving, we generally celebrate calmly and quietly. It's usually just the two of us, and is more often than not a day of much needed rest. This dish has become our traditional meal and we look forward to it every year! Because more is more, I make naan to serve along side this meal. It's a holiday, after all! Why not have some delicious, poofy, soft flatbread to get the rest of the sauce out of the bowl? For that matter, Tuesdays, national pumpkin day, a good hair day, or pretty much any day deserves naan!

If you're not a coconut fan, leave the coconut out of the rice and substitute water for the coconut milk. For the sauce, the coconut milk is a must to maintain the amazing texture. It doesn't remotely taste like coconut! Worst case, you could likely substitute regular milk or a plant based milk (cashew milk would be awesome! YUM!!). The original recipe included the addition of molasses to the rice and I was not remotely a fan. The sauce is the star of this whole meal, and the super sweet rice didn't do it for me. That's one of the most beautiful things about cooking - you can change things to suit your taste!

As you can see from the pictures, even the leftovers are beautiful! Also, you can very easily freeze the second half of the chicken and sauce and thaw it to serve with fresh rice later on. It makes for a super super quick week night meal with very little effort! I can't wait for you to give this one a try. It's truly simply to make and will warm your soul on a chilly fall evening!