Chicken curry

A delicious birthday dinner done the Indian way

Once upon a time, I asked Adam which Indian dish he would most like me to learn to make. "Chicken curry," he said. So I emailed his mom — who is crazy-talented when it comes to cooking up deliciousness — and asked for her recipe. Wonderful lady that she is, she sent over a recipe for chicken curry... that was a touch out of my league. 

I admit it! I'm a weenie when it comes to whole chickens. I've never cooked one, let alone cut one to pieces while it's raw and boney. We also don't have a large pan that's not non-stick, so when her recipe called for "scraping up the brown bits at the bottom of the pan," I had no brown bits to scrape. Non-stick skillets don't give you brown bits — and brown bits are key for flavor in a lot of sauces. 

So I adapted Adam's mom's recipe as best I could for my own comfort level and working with what we had on hand, skillet wise and spice wise (I used powdered spices in place of some whole spices — like ground cinnamon in place of a cinnamon stick). While Adam totally loved his birthday dinner, we both agreed that next time we should go big or go home: whole chickens and a skillet with some stick. But for now, I'll share my slightly-more-weenie way of making Adam's mom's chicken curry (and give you her method along the way for all you non-weenies out there).

- - - - - - - 

CHICKEN CURRY

WHAT YOU'LL NEED: 

MARINADE

2 large chicken breasts (or 1 whole cut up chicken with bones)

1/2 cup yogurt

1-inch square piece of fresh ginger, grated or finely chopped

1 and 1/2 tsp minced garlic (or 3 cloves of garlic, grated)

1 tsp tumeric

1/4 tsp red chili powder

SAUCE

1 large onion, chopped

1 large or two smaller tomatoes, chopped

3 TBS olive oil

1 bay leaf

1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground cloves (or 4 cloves)

1/2 to 1 tsp ground cardamom (or 3 to 4 whole cardamom pods)**

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (or 1 cinnamon stick)

1 tsp sugar

1 cup chicken stock (or warm water) 

salt to taste

** Cardamom is expensive. Like $14/jar. You can substitute a one-to-one mixture of cinnamon and nutmeg for cardamom; for this recipe, I use 1/4 tsp of each to replace the cardamom. Adam later told me he believes this spice is pretty essential, so I will probably shop around for a more affordable retailer and not use the cinnamon and nutmeg substitute in the future, if I can help it. But it's great in a pinch — or if you just want to save a few bucks!

WHAT YOU'LL DO: 

1. For the marinade: Mix yogurt, ginger, garlic, turmeric, and red chili powder until combined. Add chicken, and marinate 2 hours or longer if possible. Since I used chicken breasts, I cut them into small pieces before marinating. 

2. For the sauce: Heat oil in a large (ideally not non-stick) skillet on medium-low heat for a few minutes. Add cloves, cardamom (or substitute spices), cinnamon, and bay leaf. Mix the spices with the oil and fry until fragrant, taking care to stir the mixture so it doesn't burn (it can burn easily!). 

3. Add chopped onions, salt, and sugar. (I did a poor job keeping track of how much salt I added; I just kept sprinkling it in at various stages of cooking). Cook onion until golden, soft, and fragrant, taking care not to burn. 

4. Add marinated chicken and chopped tomato. Lower the flame and place the lid on the skillet. Cook for about five minutes, then stir/turn the chicken (this is where you scrape up the brown bits). Continue cooking and turning the chicken until it's cooked all the way through (15 to 20 minutes, or less if you cut the chicken into rather small pieces). Add 1 cup chicken stock or warm water (I used chicken stock because I figured it would add more flavor), bring to a boil, then lower heat and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. 

5. Serve with Basmati rice, cooked according to the package instructions. Or cook the rice my new favorite way: Instead of cooking the rice in only water, I cook in half water, half coconut milk (I use the Silk brand, original). At the end of cooking the rice, I stir in a splash more of coconut milk to make it creamy (rather than dry and sticky), then remove from heat.

- - - - - - - 

You'll notice there's no actual curry powder in this recipe. Fun fact: Curry powder as we Westerners know it was invented by the British! It's not actually used in Indian cuisine — rather, "curry" just means a blend of spices. 

This dish was tasty on night one, but even better the next day once all of the spices had even more of a chance to mingle. Mixing the chicken and sauce right in with the rice cooked in coconut milk was super yummy, and although I still prefer my Indian food to have a more creamy sauce (like coconut chicken and tikka masala), this chicken curry was a delicious change of pace.