Zingy Lemon Curry Chicken Over Black Beans & Rice – $.82

When you think of rice and beans do you think of pasty, bland rice and gummy black beans? Well I do, which is why I wanted to make it myself and see if I could make it better. I don’t mean to brag, but that was seriously some of the best rice & beans I’ve had in a long time. Life is too short for bland food!

Anyway I don’t know if this is the authentic way to make it, but here’s what I did…

Make some rice. You know how to, right? Yeah I used to think it was rocket science to cook it on the stove but it’s pretty easy. For each serving, measure out roughly 1/4 cup of rice and put it in a pot. Rinse at least 2 or 3 times till the water is clear. Then put in twice the amount of water than you did rice, so 1/2 cup water for every 1/4 cup of rice.

Bring it up to a boil, cover it, and turn it all the way down to the lowest setting. Don’t lift the cover for at least 7-9 minutes. When the rice is done, take it off the heat and fluff it with a fork.

In another heated, oiled pot, put in a handful of chopped onions and a nice pinch of sea salt.

Once the onions get some color in it, add a few cloves of chopped garlic. Don’t be shy. I used about 3 cloves for one serving.

Add a handful of black beans and a splash of water. Then add chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, and salt. Stir on medium high heat for a few minutes then take off the heat. TASTE it before you serve it. Make sure it has flavor, yo.

In a very hot, greased pan, add about 1/2 cut up chicken breast and a pinch of salt.

Don’t overcook the chicken, it won’t take very long. Keep flipping the chicken every few minutes so it’s all evenly cooked. When you start to see just a little color like this, put the juice of 1/2 lemon on top. Be careful, lemon juice and hot oil don’t like each other.

Immediately add a hearty portion of paprika and curry powder in it, plus a few tablespoons of water. If you don’t add the water, the spices get nasty and dry.

By adding water and waiting for it to evaporate, it dissolves the spices and coats the chicken. Don’t take off the heat till the water has mostly evaporated like this!

Here’s where the magic happens. Add a nice spoonful of rice, then beans, then the chicken on top. You may need to taste a bite before you do that, but I recommend squeezing a tiny bit of lemon juice on top and extra salt on top. If you have cilantro, add some on top too.

Yeah, that was pretty much awesome.

1 serving of rice – $.10
1 serving of black beans – $.12
1/2 chicken breast – $.50
Chopped onion, garlic and spices – $.10
1 serving – $.82