Grilled Chicken and Veggies with Indian Simmer Sauce (Easy Camp Dinner)
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This is one of those easy camping meals that packs a lot of flavor thanks to a pre-made sauce! Thanks to a little prep at home, this dinner is a one-pot camping meal and ready in under 30 minutes.
I love Indian food. It’s my absolutely favorite cuisine. (Thai food is second!) Years ago I worked 12-hour shifts in a laboratory, and for a solid year, I would get Mushroom Mattar from a local Indian restaurant after my last shift every single week.
Since I love to cook and bake, naturally I wanted to learn to make Indian food authentically from scratch all on my own.
How can it be so good? I needed to know how it was done.
I rented books on Indian food from the library (yes I still use the public library), I watched YouTube videos, and I went to my local Indian food market to buy spices and other ingredients that I couldn’t find at my local grocery store.
After hours in the kitchen, a huge mess, and the smell of fenugreek seeds throughout my apartment, I finally made my first Indian dish from scratch… and it needed some work.
I’ve traveled to India a couple of times, and on my second visit, I took a cooking class where I learned so much about Indian cooking!
Since I’m still no expert on Indian cooking, and it can take a lot of time to make sauces from scratch, I like to buy pre-made Indian sauces to save time in the kitchen.
This happens to be perfect for camping – where time, cooking space, kitchen utensils, and spices, are limited.
This easy dinner recipe is perfect for camping because it uses a pre-made Indian Simmer Sauce. We just add in vegetables, chicken, and rice to make a seriously delicious camp dinner that’s SO easy to prepare.
This Quick and Healthy Camping Dinner Is:
- packed with delicious Indian spices
- super creamy
- filled with healthy vegetables
- cooked in one pot
- great for a large group of campers
- easy to cleanup after
Let’s dive into the recipe and instructions!
What’s in this easy camp dinner?
Maya Kaimal Indian Simmer Sauce: This simmer sauce is incredible. This recipe would work just fine with another brand, but I love the Maya Kaimal sauces. Every time they’re on sale at the grocery store, I buy a few to keep in the pantry. This recipe works fine with any of their sauce flavors, but the one I used in this recipe is the Kashmiri Curry. Delish!
Assorted Vegetables: Feel free to change up the veggies in this dinner. The main vegetables that I like to use are carrots, red and green bell peppers, broccoli, green beans, and onions.
Basmati Rice: White or brown rice will work in this recipe, although I do prefer white rice. I recommend cooking your rice beforehand, or buying the pre-cooked packets. You can also use instant rice. Cooking white rice at camp is possible, but it can take a while, so I prefer to buy the cooked packets.
Note: I do not recommend trying to cook brown rice over a camp stove. It takes too long!
Grilled Chicken: I like to add grilled chicken to this recipe for a boost in protein, but you can leave it out to make this camp meal vegetarian. I really love the additional flavor and protein that grilled chicken adds to this dish.
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Camp Cooking Starter Kit
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What you can prepare in advance?
Grilled Chicken:
You can definitely cook chicken at camp, either in a pan over the stove, or on the grill, but if you want to make this camp dinner even easier, cook the chicken at home and pack it in the cooler. You can even buy pre-cooked grilled chicken!
Cooked chicken should last in the cooler for a few days no problem. Then when you’re at camp, you don’t have to deal with preparing and cleaning up after raw chicken.
Rice:
Rice can be cooked beforehand and stored in the cooler for a few days. Since cooler space is typically pretty limited, I like to buy the pre-cooked rice packets that you can store at room temperature. They make things super easy. One packet is usually enough for two people when mixed with everything else in this dish.
Vegetables:
I recommend cleaning and drying all your veggies at home before you go camping. Rub off any dirt and peel off stickers so that when you’re at camp, you can start slicing the vegetables right away and not waste time or water cleaning.
Camp Cooking Supplies That you’ll NeeD:
- Camp stove and propane
I use the Camp Chef Everest Stove. I bring this on all of my camping trips! It’s really easy to set up, use, and clean.
- Medium to large pot with a lid to cook in
I use the MSR Alpine Stowaway Pot when I go camping. We store bowls in it when it’s not in use. It also comes with a lid and I like that the handle folds over the lid. It saves some space and makes it a lot easier to pack. The pot comes in 4 different sizes!
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- Large spoon for mixing
- Bowl and utensils to eat with
Grilled Chicken and Veggies With Indian Simmer Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped assorted vegetables (broccoli, red bell peppers, string beans, carrots, yellow onions)
- 2 Tbsp butter or oil
- 1 jar
- 1 jar Maya Kaimal Indian Simmer Sauce (any flavor)
- 4-6 oz grilled chicken breast (cubed)
- 1 8 oz packet of pre-cooked Basmati Rice*
Instructions
- Add the chopped vegetables and butter to a medium-sized pot and place over a medium heat on your camp stove.
- Cook for 3-5 minutes mixing frequently so the butter melts and the veggies begin to soften. Add in the pre-cooked grilled chicken cubes and mix.
- Add in the entire jar of Indian Simmer Sauce and mix to coat the veggies and chicken with sauce.
- Mix in about 1/4 cup water, cover the pot with a lid and simmer for 8-10 minutes over a low heat, mixing every couple of minutes.
- Lastly, mix in the pre-cooked rice. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
More Easy Camping Recipes
I hope you enjoy this easy dinner when you’re out camping. It’s quickly become one of my all-time favorite camping meals!
If you’re looking for even more car camping resources and recipes, make sure to check out some of my other posts and videos below:
Could I dehydrate this meal to take on a backpacking trip?
No, I wouldn’t dehydrate this. The chicken would be really difficult to rehydrate, and generally, you don’t want to dehydrate fatty foods. I think the sauce would be too fatty for dehydration and could potentially go rancid.