Cranberry Curried Chicken with Mango Chutney Rice Pudding

Cranberry Curried Chicken (recipe from: Robin Miller, Food Network)
Ingredients:
-3 teaspoons canola or olive oil, divided
-2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
-3 tablespoons mild or medium-hot curry powder, divided
-2 teaspoons butter
-1 small onion, chopped
-1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
-Generous 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
-1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with mild green chiles
-1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
-1 cup sweetened dried cranberries (aka Craisins)
-1 tablespoon minced fresh (or ground) ginger
-1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
-Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

Mango Chutney Rice Pudding (my original recipe)

Ingredients:

-1 bag long grain white rice

-1 can lite coconut milk

-1/2 bag sweetened coconut

-1 bottle Mango Chutney (I recommend Trader Joe's)

Directions:
1. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a deep pan / skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add half the chicken pieces and sprinkle with a generous 1/2 teaspoon curry powder. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large plate.

2. Add the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to the pot and heat until hot. Add the remaining chicken; sprinkle with another generous 1/2 teaspoon curry powder and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the plate.

-Cook rice in large pot according to package directions.

3. Add butter, onion and mustard seeds to the pot; cook, stirring, until the seeds pop and the onion begins to brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pot, sprinkle with the remaining curry powder and cloves; stir to coat the chicken with the spices. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

4. Stir in tomatoes, broth, dried cranberries, ginger and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the mixture reduces slightly and the chicken is cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes more.

-I like to add about 1/4 of the can of coconut milk to the curry mix at the end.

-While curry is simmering, make the rice pudding. Once rice is done, add the remaining coconut milk, jar of mango chutney, and 1/2 bag of coconut. Add a couple tablespoons of milk to thin if needed.

-Let rice simmer until thickened.

-Serve garnished with cilantro and extra coconut.

-I like to serve with a good red or rose wine. (My favorite is a Malbec)

This recipe may seem complicated b/c it has a lot of ingredients and involves a little timing and coordination to have it all done around the same time. But never fear....it won't hurt the curry to continue to simmer on low, so error on the side of waiting on the rice to be done. Another great thing about this recipe is that it feeds a lot of people (or makes a lot of leftovers that reheat really nicely!).