Chicken in creamy tomato sauce and coconut milk
Creamy and tangy one pan chicken recipe!
This is a simple, easy to make chicken recipe that is bursting with flavor. All the ingredients are easily available in most grocery stores. Just the combination of tomato and basil in coconut milk or heavy cream in itself is so yummy no matter what meat you are adding in to it. It could be shrimp, lobster, chicken, or even mushroom and it is sure to be a hit.
Another ingredient that goes very well with tomatoes is garlic. Hmmm… the smell of garlic roasting in butter! Do take a moment and take a deep breath smelling the roasted garlic. It’s heavenly!
Spinach shares a special spot in my heart. It is full of iron and also an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C and folate as well as being a good source of manganese, magnesium, and vitamin B2. I add spinach to almost everything I prepare for my son. I didn’t want him to develop any aversion towards spinach like how I did growing up. So I introduced spinach even before he turned one. I pureed spinach and add it to his oatmeal. Poor guy, he used to eat it all. Now I add it to his smoothies, soups and in the curries to go with rice.
For creaminess, you can either add heavy cream or coconut milk. I have used a combination of both to get the coconut flavor and creaminess from heavy cream.
I use bone-in chicken thighs as I like extra flavor that the bones bring to the dish. So, unless I am making a dish that specifically calls for boneless, I prefer using bone in chicken. This is just my preference, you may use boneless chicken as well.
Remove the skin from the chicken thighs. Marinate chicken with turmeric, salt and ¼ tsp pepper and set aside for 15-30 minutes
In a large skillet heat olive oil on medium heat. Add chicken to the hot skillet and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat, until the top side is nicely roasted.
Flip over to the other side and roast for 5 more minutes on medium heat and keep aside.
To the same, now empty skillet, add minced garlic, onion powder, paprika, red bell pepper and sauté for a minute.
Add tomato sauce, coconut milk and heavy cream. Bring to boil and stir.
Reduce heat to low simmer. Add fresh spinach and fresh basil. Stir until spinach wilts.
At this point you can taste the sauce and add balance ¼ tsp pepper and more salt and if needed
Add back cooked chicken thighs, increase heat to medium. Reheat the chicken thighs in the skillet with the sauce and cook until the chicken is completely cooked through and is no longer pink in the center.
Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.
Thank you for trying this with me!
I’d love to see it on Instagram! Just use the hashtag #ttwmblog and I’ll be sure to find it.
Ingredients
Directions
Remove the skin from the chicken thighs. Marinate chicken with turmeric, salt and ¼ tsp pepper and set aside for 15-30 minutes
In a large skillet heat olive oil on medium heat. Add chicken to the hot skillet and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat, until the top side is nicely roasted.
Flip over to the other side and roast for 5 more minutes on medium heat and keep aside.
To the same, now empty skillet, add minced garlic, onion powder, paprika, red bell pepper and sauté for a minute.
Add tomato sauce, coconut milk and heavy cream. Bring to boil and stir.
Reduce heat to low simmer. Add fresh spinach and fresh basil. Stir until spinach wilts.
At this point you can taste the sauce and add balance ¼ tsp pepper and more salt and if needed
Add back cooked chicken thighs, increase heat to medium. Reheat the chicken thighs in the skillet with the sauce and cook until the chicken is completely cooked through and is no longer pink in the center.
Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.