Recipe - Home-style Chicken Curry

Chicken curry ingredients.

I make my favorite meals over and over again, but sometimes suppertime rolls around and I want to try something different and feel up to spending a little more time on preparation.  Because it's normally a spur of the moment thing, the challenge is always finding a recipe that matches stuff I have in my refrigerator, freezer and pantry.  Last night I had a craving for Chicken Pub Curry, an English favorite that my son Captain Morgan made for us a while ago.  I was shocked to discover that I had only one onion, and not at all shocked to confirm that I had no curry paste, so that recipe was out.  Lucky for me and my taste buds I found an online recipe which was very similar to the Pub curry; and I had all the ingredients on the list, or reasonable substitutions.  It came out great!  And today my house smells rather exotic, making me hungry for another bowl of this glorious stew.  Thank goodness for leftovers!

Home-style Chicken Curry

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

1 large onion (Note: I had to use a red one but I recommend a yellow or white onion)

6 garlic cloves, peeled

1 tablespoon ginger paste

3 tablespoons sunflower oil

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon hot Madras curry powder or garam masala

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon sugar

14 ounce can diced tomatoes (do not drain)

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

8 oz hot chicken bouillon or stock

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Procedure

1.  Peel the onion and place in a food processor.  Add a tablespoon or two of water and process into a thin paste.  Pour into a small bowl and set aside.

2.  Put the garlic and ginger paste into the food processor and process until pureed.  Scrape into a small bowl and set aside.

Mmmmm...The fragrance of the cumin, fennel and cinnamon  is incredible.

3.  Heat the oil in a heavy pan over medium heat.  In a small bowl combine the cumin and fennel seeds with the cinnamon and red pepper flakes and add to the pan once the oil is hot.  Swirl everything around for about 30 seconds until the spices release a fragrant aroma.

4.  Add the onion paste -- it will sputter a bit at first.  Fry until the water evaporates and the onions turn dark golden (about 7 - 8 minutes).  Add the garlic-ginger paste and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  You will end up with a thick, dark roux.

5.  Stir in the curry powder, turmeric, and sugar and continue cooking for 20 seconds before adding the can of tomatoes.  Continue cooking on medium heat for about 10 minutes without a lid until the tomatoes reduce and darken.  Stir occasionally and adjust the heat if the mixture starts to stick to the bottom.

Coat the chicken in the masala to seal in the juices.

6.  Meanwhile cut the chicken thighs into chunks.  Once the tomatoes have thickened, add the thighs to the pan and cook for 5 minutes to coat the chicken in the masala and seal in the juices.  Add the hot chicken stock and simmer without a lid 8 - 10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.  You can add an extra spoonful or two of stock or broth if the curry needs it.

7.  Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve with Indian flatbreads or fluffy basmati rice.

Delicious home-style chicken curry with a spoonful of brown basmati rice.

(This recipe was adapted from the BBC GoodFood "Home-style Chicken Curry" recipe.)