This colorful stir-fry combines green bell pepper, orange carrots and red onion along with spice-coated chicken for a delicious result. The cooking happens quickly, so it’s a good idea to measure out and prepare all the ingredients in the recipe before you fire up the wok. Enjoy the smoky aromas that emanate from the pan and the combination of spices that titillate the taste buds.

Makes 4 servings, 1 1/4 cups each

ACTIVE TIME: 35 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 35 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
2 large carrots, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 small red onion, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 dried red chiles, such as Thai, cayenne or chile de arbol, stemmed
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 cup firmly packed fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

1. Grind coriander, cumin and fennel seeds in a spice grinder (such as a clean coffee grinder) or a mortar and pestle until the mixture resembles coarsely ground pepper. Transfer to a medium bowl and add cornstarch, salt and turmeric; stir to combine. Add chicken and stir until coated with the spice mixture.
2. Preheat a wok or a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil is shimmering, add carrots, bell pepper, onion, garlic and chiles. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables begin to brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
3. Reduce heat to medium-high and add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan. Add the chicken and seasonings from the bowl and cook, stirring, until no longer pink in the middle, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the vegetables, lime juice and mint and cook until heated through, about 30 seconds.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 271 calories; 14 g fat (2 g sat, 7 g mono); 63 mg cholesterol; 13 g carbohydrate; 25 g protein; 4 g fiber; 524 mg sodium; 514 mg potassium.
Nutrition bonus: Vitamin A (140% daily value), Vitamin C (70% dv), Iron (20% dv), Fiber (16% dv), Potassium (15% dv).
1 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 3 lean meat, 1 1/2 fat

This recipe was absolutely superb! Made it twice in 4 days, once with chicken and once with shrimp and it was just as wonderful both times. I served it with the pineapple chutney (recipe was in the same article as chicken recipe) on side and it was a great match. The chicken is smokey and richly aromatic but not overly spicy while the chutney just zinged it! I used boneless/skinless chicken thighs instead of the breasts called for in the recipe. The shrimp though was divine and used exactly same method. Next I'm going to improvise for salmon fillets because the spice blend and treatment would be wonderful, I think, with pan seared fillets. In addition to excellent flavour, the prep is dead easy and I've already ground an extra container of the spice mix to have on hand which really makes prep time quick.

Penny Kiely, Dorset, ON

Wow was this a nice suprise. I was at work looking for something to make and found this recipe in my email waiting for me :). I made a couple of substitutions. I don't like mint so i used cilantro. I used a red bell pepper rather than a green. Also i thought i had onions at home and i didn't so i had to omit those :(. Now for those that don't know it this isn't really authentic Indian food but does that mean it won't be good? Heck No!! I definitely am going to add this recipe to my cookbook and make it again. I made it along with my favorite brown rice recipe. mmmmmmmmmmmm

ncage

This recipe is wonderful. I used a red pepper instead of green. I don't know why the one comment said it wasn't Indian maybe they don't get out much. The recipe is called Kadhai Murghi.

Kim Perlman, Ann Arbor, MI

Good recipe. But the amount of oil can be reduced and so can the cooking time. For example, cook the chicken first and when it is half cooked, add the vegetables with a little water and if you want a tablespoon of oil. Not only would this reduce the amount of oil required, it would also reduce the cooking time. And yes, this recipe is pretty authentic. Except that we already have roasted and ground spices and don't really have to do that last minute. We do use red/yellow/green bell peppers depending on what we fancy.

AT, Mumbai, Ma