Coconut Chicken Curry

Today's post is a recipe I discovered on a favorite of the blogs I follow, My Kitchen Cafe. It's practical and yummy, all at the same time.

I love a good curry, but haven't been especially successful at making them at home. For some reason, the finished product never seems like it's good enough to justify the time invested. But this recipe is a glorious exception. It's relatively simple and exquisitely delicious. It's universally loved at our house. And I hope you love the odor as much as we do, because it will hang around the house for several days. We just look at it as one of the positive by-products of making the meal.

Mel, the author of My Kitchen Cafe, suggests taking the recipe to the simmer phase early in the day and then pouring it in the crockpot to finish on low for four to five hours. I think this is a lovely idea, but it would require thinking four or five hours ahead, which often does not happen when I'm in charge of the meal. We serve it over jasmine rice with any kind of Asian or vegetable sides that suit your fancy.

Coconut Chicken Curry
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks or strips
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons curry powder (we are especially fond of Penzey's sweet curry, which a thoughtful friend shared with us)
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika (substitute cayenne if you want it hotter; we don't)
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves minced garlic
4 medium red potatoes, cut into chunks
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, Italian style
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
3 tablespoons of sugar (no wonder it is good)

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Heat the oil, curry powder, and paprika in a large skillet or saucepan over medium-low heat for two minutes, until fragrant but not burned. Turn the heat up to medium and stir in the onions and garlic; cook 7-9 minutes or so until the onions are very clear. Add the chicken, tossing lightly to coat with the curry oil and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink and is cooked through or nearly cooked through (it will continue to simmer in the next step). Add potatoes, coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce and sugar into the pan. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30-40 minutes. The sauce thickens slightly upon standing. Serve with jasmine or brown rice.

Basmati Rice

Basmati rice is generally served with Indian food. It's has a longer grain than most other rice; it also has an incredible, nutty aroma while it's cooking. You can, of course, simply cook the rice according to package directions and it's lovely. We like to dress ours up just a little bit when we serve it with a nice curry or other Indian dish.

The peas, by the way, are optional.

Basmati Rice

1 ½ cups basmati rice
3 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 small onion, cut into thin slices
1/2  teaspoon garam masala
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas

Wash the rice in several changes of water and drain. Cover generously in water and soak for 30 minutes. Drain thoroughly. Heat the oil in a small, heavy pot over medium high heat. When hot, add the onion and stir until it is brown. Add the rice and garam masala. Stir for a minute. Now put in the broth and bring to a boil (or transfer rice to rice cooker and add broth and stir). Cover tightly, turn heat to very low, and cook 20 minutes. Add the peas. Cover tightly again and cook another 5 to 7 minutes. Stir gently before serving.

Chicken Coconut Kurma

First, although my mother taught me never to begin with an apology, let me apologize for the less-than-perfect photo. This tastes really good, though. Chicken coconut kurma is one of my favorite dishes at Indian restaurants. The same sauce can be used with other meats; we like chicken so much that we've never ventured out. The coconut cream and raisins give this a sweetness that contrasts nicely with the rest of the savory flavors.

Chicken Coconut Kurma

½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon cayenne
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 ½ to 3 pounds skinned, boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

Mix the spices together and stir over the chicken pieces. Mix well and refrigerate for at least one hour.

6-7 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 inch square of ginger root, fresh
1 ½ cups of water

Put the ginger and garlic in a blender with ½ cup of the water. Blend until smooth.

4 Tbs. of vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
6 tablespoons plain low-fat yogurt, whip until very smooth
2 tablespoons golden raisins
¼ cup cashews
1 teaspoon garam masala
½ cup coconut cream (sold by the can in most Asian stores; it's thicker than coconut milk)

Heat the oil in a heavy, non-stick pan. When hot, put in as many chicken pieces as will fit on the bottom. Cook until browned and repeat with other pieces of chicken. Set the chicken aside.

Put the onion in the remaining oil and fry hot until they turn medium brown. Add the garlic-ginger paste. Stir and fry until the water evaporates. Put in the remaining cumin, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne. Fry for about 30 seconds. Now put in the chopped tomatoes. Turn heat to low and cook for three to four minutes, mashing the paste with the back of a spoon. Add the yogurt, one tablespoon at a time. Add raisins and cashews. Put in the chicken and any accumulated juices, ¾ cup of water, and one teaspoon of salt in the pan. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Take off the cover and add the garam masala and coconut cream. Mix gently. Turn up the heat and cook, stirring gently now and then until the sauce becomes fairly thick.

Naan

We've experimented with making naan, an Indian flat bread, at home. We don't have a tandoor, so it's not perfect yet. But this version makes a reasonable facsimile. It's quite simple. I've found the key is to roll the sections out as thin as humanly possible while still being able to handle the dough. Then Bob cooks it on the barbecue, basting it with olive oil infused with a little bit of garlic as he goes.

Naan

1 ¼ teaspoon yeast
½ cup warm water
4 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 egg, beaten
¼ teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 ¼ cups bread flour
1 tsp. finely minced onion (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil mixed with 1 teaspoon minced garlic
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.

Punch the dough down and knead in the minced onion if you want onion-flavored naan. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.

Roll each ball of dough out into an oblong shape. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with oil, and turn over. Brush cooked side with oil, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared. (Serves about 9)

Garam Masala

It's been awhile since I've discussed a favorite product. And since I'm going to be featuring Indian food over the next few posts, I thought talking a little bit about garam masala was essential. Wikipedia discusses this combination of spices as follows:

Garam masala from Hindi garam ("hot") and masala ("mixture") is a basic blend of ground spices common in Indian and other South Asian cuisines. It is used alone or with other seasonings. The word garam refers to spice intensity, not heat; garam masala is pungent, but not "hot" in the same way as a chili pepper.

In short, garam masala  makes cooking Indian food a snap (this is me talking now, not Wikipedia). You can, of course, make your own blend, but I do not. Different brands have different combinations of spices. Typical spices include cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg and coriander (along with various colors of ground pepper). I have found that prices for the same brand vary widely; the bottle of McCormick featured in the photo is about $11 at the grocery store closest to my house, and about half that at the local WalMart. My friend Laura recently scouted the newly opened Indian store in our community (Bollywood on University Avenue for those of you who are local) and got a remarkable quantity of the stuff for about $4. It appeared to be a somewhat different mix of spices, but smelled great. And that's one of the things you'll like best about this blend--the way it makes your house smell when you cook with it.

Tandoori Chicken

The name of this recipe is a little bit misleading since we do not, in fact, have a tandoor. We do have a nice outdoor grill, which seems to make an acceptable substitute. This is the overall family favorite for Indian food. It's also fairly healthy as long as you use low-fat or non-fat yogurt and trim the chicken.

The original recipe called for adding a bit of red food coloring, which does make the dish look more like something you would get at an Indian restaurant. We don't usually color our food unnecessarily, though, and we like the way it looks without the coloring.

As this recipe has evolved, we have started finishing the chicken in a vegetable basket that is designed to grill vegetables. We put the onion slices under the chicken. Both the look and the flavor of the onions when we do this is unbelievable. Unfortunately, we forgot about this innovation until the chicken was already in the house, so the photo shows the original cooking method.

Tandoori Chicken

Marinade

1 teaspoon dry ground ginger

2 large cloves garlic

1/4 teaspoon tumeric

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 1/2 teaspons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 cup plain low-fat or non-fat yogurt

1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice

Blend all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until it's well combined.

Chicken

2-3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, well trimmed

Pour the marinade over the chicken and stir to coat the chicken thoroughly. Seal in a plastic bag or container, refrigerate, and marinate for at least four but no more than 12 hours. Turn the chicken at least once to ensure that it is evenly coated.

Heat the grill and lay the chicken pieces on the grill about two inches apart. Cover the grill.

After about five minutes, remove the grill lid and turn over the chicken pieces; they should look slightly charred. Replace the lid and continue cooking for another five to seven minutes. Uncover the chicken, turn it over, and leave it uncovered while you cook it for another 2-3 minutes. Test for doneness; the meat should feel firm when you press it.

Garnish (This is our favorite part of the recipe)

1/2 mild onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves

1 lime, cut in wedges

Transfer the chicken to a large platter. Arrange the onion, cilantro and lime wedges over the chicken and seal the platter with foil. Let the chicken rest for ten minutes to absorb the garnish flavors. We also like to squeeze the lime juice over the chicken before serving.

Indian Baked Potatoes

Yesterday I realized that we had eaten rice every night for a week. We had many different kinds, but it was rice nonetheless. While basmati rice would usually be our preferred accompaniament for Indian food, I couldn't take another night of rice (I am amazed that I successfully lived in Taiwan for six months).

I started searching for Indian recipes that would fill up our rapidly growing children,use ingredients we had on hand and complement the Tandoori chicken I was making as a main course. I came across this recipe for Indian baked potatoes. When I took it out of the oven and offered Bob a taste, he said, "This tastes a lot more Utah Mormon than Punjabi." Maybe it was the zucchini. I had to agree with his verdict, even though I found the recipe on what appeared to be a fairly Indian site.

I made a few changes to the original recipe. I increased the cream cheese and other cheeses a bit, which may also have contributed to the Utah feel. The original recipe calls for whatever vegetables one has on hand; we had cauliflower, carrots, onions, and of course, zucchini. I think the only one of those that wasn't included on the original list was zucchini.

This is a pretty dish to look at and it made the house smell great. It's also fairly simple. The kids loved it, so I'm sure it will make an encore appearance on another night when we get tired of rice again.

Indian Baked Potatoes

4-6 medium russet potatoes, peeled and boiled
Juilienned pieces of various vegetables (I used carrots, onions, cauliflower, and zucchini)
2 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mash potatoes while hot with cream cheese. Stir fry various vegetables for about five minutes in a small amount of butter or vegetable oil. Mix potatoes and vegetables together until well blended. Spread into a 9 x 13 baking dish and top with mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook on high broil for 2-3 (moving the oven rack to the second-to-the-highest shelf) or until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly.

Chicken Tikka Masala

I was first introduced to Indian food when the first Indian restaurant, Bombay House, opened in my town a couple of decades ago. I was immediately hooked.

I've sampled Indian food all over the US, in the Middle East and Europe (and even in India). On my first date with my husband, we discovered a mutual love for Indian food, and we had dinner at the Bombay House the night we became officially engaged.

My cravings for Indian food are strong enough that learning how to cook it seemed like the practical thing to do. After a little experimentation, I've come up with several receipes that are good imitations of what our favorite Indian restaurants serve. Although the rest of the family tends to prefer Tandoori Chicken (which we cook on the barbecue grill since we haven't yet managed to install a tandoori oven in our back yard), my favorite is probably Chicken Tikka Masala. I'll post on Tandoori Chicken another day.

First, you make the marinade for the chicken. We usually use about 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, because they tend to taste less dry than breasts. But breasts also work. Cut them into bite-sized pieces, and then marinate in a gallon-sized ziploc bag

I usually start the marinade about four hours before dinner time.

Prepare the other ingredients before you start cooking. Just a note about garam masala, wich is included both in the marinade and in the sauce. Garam masala is a general seasoning that is included in many Indian dishes. Think Italian seasoning for Indian food. It's possible to make your own, but it's easier just to buy a bottle. It's quite expensive at my neighborhood supermarket, but is about 1/3 as much at WalMart.

Cook the chicken until it's cooked through but not brown.

Take it out of the skillet and cook the other sauce ingredients. Cook the sauce ingredients in the same pan. Add the chicken back in for the last ten minutes. Here's what the finished product looks like, accompanied with our own version of naan (Indian flat bread) and basmati rice.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Marinade and meat
2 cups plain, non-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 teaspons garam masala
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tespoon ground ginger
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt

Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large green pepper, very thinly sliced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
dash cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons garam masala
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
2 8-oz. cans tomato sauce
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

In large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, garam masala, cayenne, black pepper, ginger and salt. Pour over chicken pieces in a gallon zip loc bag and refrigerate for one to four hours.

Cook chicken pieces in small amount of oil in a large, hevy skillet, turning to cook on all sides. Remove when cooked through (but not brown). Remove chicken from the skillet, set aside.

Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic, pepper and onion for one minute. Season with garam masala, cayenne, paprika and salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add chicken and simmer for ten minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with fresh cilantro.