Friday Night Dinner- Mock Chicken Curry (Vegan, Gluten Free)

Tonight I have many friends coming over for dinner... some are vegetarian, while others are not, so I made a dish that would be a fair compromise for the carnivores at the dinner table; Mock Chicken Curry. I have made this dish several times in the past with great success, not only because it's delicious, but because it tastes like the "real" thing for those eaters that are not vegetarian.

Chicken curry is a common dish in India as well as neighboring countries, the United Kingdom and Caribbean. It originated in India and was introduce to the rest of the world throughout history.

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

2 10-ounce packages of vegetarian chicken nuggets*
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 heaping teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespoons grated ginger
1 small chili (seeds removed)
3 onions, diced
½ teaspoon chili powder
4 cloves crushed garlic
3 tomatoes, diced
2 tablespoon mango chutney (or any of your choice)

1. Heat oil in a medium sized skillet over a medium high flame, add mustard seed, turmeric, curry powder, ginger, chili and chili powder. Stir for 2 minutes.
2. Then add onions and garlic, stirring to make sure onions don’t brown. Remove from heat after 4 minutes and remove into a bowl to set aside.
3. In the same skillet, add mock chicken and let brown on both sides. Then add tomatoes on top of chicken. Stir a bit, then add the remaining ingredients from the bowl.
4. Let it simmer, covered for 45 minutes. 30 minutes into simmer, add mango chutney.

* For this recipe I used the brand “May Wah” or go to any good Asian supermarket and you will find it in the frozen section of mock meats.