Okay, dudes. We're going to the sub-continent. Getting our (pseudo) India on. You know how you are...you grill, maybe you've made a salad or two for your significant other. Let's show her(him) you have an international flair.
The original to this comes from here. It's from the New York Times Cooking site by a no-kiddin'-around chef named Pierre Franey. I have, of course, screwed with it. Not 'cause there was anything wrong with it...just 'cause. This, therefore, is a double dude post...mine, and the original.
Unlike most Indian dishes (or Indian inspired dishes), this has just a few ingredients. Indian food derives its depth of flavor in that it usually consists of small amounts of a ton of ingredients. This one is pretty simple in comparison.
Sweet Hot Chicken Curry
Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
½ chopped onions
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 apple, peeled, cored and finely cubed
1 large stalk (or two small ones) finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons mild/sweet curry powder
1 tbsp hot curry powder
¾ cup canned crushed tomatoes
¾ cup chicken broth, fresh or canned
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground pepper
½ lime, juiced
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into ½ inch cubes (1¼ pounds total)
4 tablespoons coarsely chopped coriander
Get yourself ready to do some cooking. You're going to want (if you have them) two sharp knives and two cutting boards. You want the chicken and veggies to use different boards and knives. If you only have one of each, no worries. Prep the veggies first, dump them all in a bowl, and then deal with the chicken.
Chop said bird into cubes, put it in a big enough bowl and liberally salt and pepper it. Give it a dash of sweet curry powder and toss it all together.
Prep your veggies. And...fruit. I know. You're thinking, "Apple...WTF?" I thought the same thing when I first encountered this recipe. It weirded me out. I made the leap of faith. It's awesome. Find the tartest, sourest apple you can get your hands on.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large saucepan (or skillet, whatever you got) over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, apple and celery. Stir until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add curry powder, stir. I think the original calls for less curry and just mild. I like to mix it up and get the sweet earthy flavor of the mild curry (2 tbsp of that) but then kick it up a bit with an additional tbsp of hot curry powder. With that mix I find that I've got enough heat to keep my attention but the dish isn't hiding behind it. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often.
Get the chicken going. Put another skillet over medium-high heat and add the remaining 2 tbsp of butter. Throw in the chicken. You'll cook it for 8-10 minutes, stirring it frequently. You want it to brown but not get too seared.
With 5 minutes remaining on the cooking time of the sauce, pour in the chicken (just dump that skillet into the sauce - chicken, butter, spices and all). Add the lime juice. Give it a good stir. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Sprinkle with chopped coriander, serve.
This works well on its own or served over rice. If you need a rice refresher, here it is...read package instructions. Cook rice exactly as package instructions call for. Try to memorize it this time.
The dish just plain works. You'll see above I have the juice of 1/2 a lime. I played around with this for a long time. I don't so much want to taste the lime as I want to heighten the sour zing of the Granny Smith. Juice of 1/2 a lime seems to be the magic amount. As a result, we have sweet, heat, beautiful aromatics from the onion, garlic, celery and bay leaf, and that nice acidic zing going on. The whole thing takes 30 minutes start to finish and it's one of those dishes that makes people think you actually know what the hell you're doing.
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