[blindcooks] Recipe - basic chicken curry
- From: "Rob Hudson" <captinlogic@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <blindcooks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 4 Apr 2014 09:34:37 -0500
For a long time now I have been experimenting with Indian cooking and curries.
I spent a lot of money on various spices ordered online, since there are no
Indian groceries within fifty miles of here. Kind of sad, actually.
Anyway, what follows is a recipe for a basic chicken curry that can be made in
thirty minutes. Feel free to vary it as you like; Indian cooking provides lots
of room to improvise.
Basic Chicken Curry
Nakes 4 to 6 servings
3 large cloves fresh garlic, peele
6 quarter-size slices peeled fresh ginger
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 / 2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro, including soft stems
1 to 3 fresh green chile peppers, stemmed
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 bay leaves
5 green cardamom pods, crushed lightly to break the skin
2 (1-inch) sticks cinnamon
1 1 / 2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala + 1 / 4 teaspoon for garnish (see notes)
1 / 2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 / 4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1 / 2 cup nonfat plain yogurt, whisked until smooth
1 (2 1 / 2 - to 3-pound) chicken, skinned and cut into serving pieces (discard
the back and wings; see notes)
1 cup water, or more as required
Cilantro sprigs
1. In a food processor, process together the garlic, ginger, and onion
until minced. Remove to a bowl. Then process together the tomatoes,
cilantro, and green chile peppers until smooth. Remove to another bowl
and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and cook the bay
leaves, cardamom pods, and cinnamon, stirring, about 30 seconds. Add the
onion-garlic mixture and cook until browned, about 7 minutes. Add the
tomato-cilantro mixture and continue to cook, stirring, until all the
juices evaporate and the oil separates to the sides, about 7 minutes.
3. Add the coriander, cumin, 1 teaspoon garam masala, turmeric, salt, and
black pepper, then mix in the yogurt, stirring constantly to prevent it
from curdling, and cook, stirring, until it is incorporated into the
sauce.
4. Add the chicken pieces and stir about 5 minutes to brown them. Then
add 1 cup water, cover the pan, and cook over high heat, about 5 minutes.
Reduce heat to moderate and cook until the chicken is tender and the
sauce thick, about 30 minutes, turning the pieces over a few times and
adding more water if you prefer a thinner sauce. Transfer to a serving
dish, garnish with garam masala and cilantro, and serve.
Notes: Garam Masala can be easily mixed up. A basic mixture has cinnamon,
cloves, cardamom, pepper and bay leaves. There are lots of different mixtures
called Garam Masala, but this is the most universal. A well-stocked regular
supermarket might have it, also, if there is no Indian grocery nearby.
If you don't want to bother with a whole chicken, boneless pieces can be
substituted. Add half chicken stock and water in step four, if you want, to get
the full flavor. I usually don't use bone-in pieces, because I eat a lot at
the computer and it becomes a bit of a mess.
You can serve this along with plained boiled basmati rice and flat bread. If
you don't feel like making Indian flatbread, you can use tortillas. Yes, this
actually works pretty well.
This dish can also easily be adapted for the slow cooker. Once you have mixed
in the spices and yogurt, you can remove the dish from the pan and add it to a
slow cooker and cook on low about four to six hours. Reduce the 1 cup water to
one half cup. I do this often, actually. Many Indian dishes are almost
perfectly designed without any modifications for slow cookers, because that is
how they are traditionally made. The dish is assembled in a pot, the lid is
placed on, and a strip of dough is wrapped around the seal between pot and lid
to prevent any steam from escaping. The pot is then placed in the ashes of the
fire and allowed to simmer very slowly. It is still done a lot these days
because many Indian homes do not have stoves.
I have some other recipes for things like biryani, lamb curry and rogan josh I
can share that use this technique, if anyone is interested.
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