Start with a good tempeh. Check out Barry's Tempeh - "the only fresh tempeh in New York" that is "unpasteurized, fresh and alive with an abundance of probiotics and enzymes"!
This recipe is based on my Indian food guru, Madhur Jeffrey's chicken in red sweet pepper sauce. Over the years I've made this so many times I can practically throw it together with my eyes closed. This recipe is so perfectly balanced in flavors you don't want to make any substitutions - except for the protein part, it works just as well with tempeh, or half chicken and half tempeh (for those of you who want to increase your intake of plant-based protein but are intimidated by tempeh!)
The most tedious part of the cooking process is assembling all the ingredients and spices together for blending. Once the sauce is made, you can kick back and relax while it cooks.
Ingredients for blending:
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 inch cube of ginger
- 1 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1 big handful (1 oz) slivered almonds
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground tumeric
- a little cayenne (depends on your comfort level)
- 2 tsp of salt
Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender, pushing them down with a spatula whenever you need to, until you get a paste like this. ( Most of the work is done!)
Decide on your protein. I like to use about 8 oz. of tempeh and 1 1/2 lb. of chicken. Double the amount of either protein if you decide to go for only one of them.
Put 5 tbsp of oil ( I use olive oil) in a pot set over medium heat. When hot, add the blended paste, stir and cook for about 5 minutes. Put in your protein. Add 4-6 oz. of water, 2 tbsp of lemon juice and black pepper. Stir, bring it to a boil. Cover, turn the heat to low and simmer gently for about 40 minutes or until the chicken is tender. Stir a few times.
It is absolutely delicious. Leftovers taste even more amazing the next day!