Fragrant Chicken Curry

The flavors of this Thai dish are so lovely.  There is a perfect sweetness from the coconut and the touch of apricot jam but also a spicy finish coming from the curry paste.  Allowing the sauce to simmer for 30 minutes concentrates the flavors while blending them creates a silky, velvety smooth texture.  Served along side fragrant basmanti or jasmine rice, you have a beautiful yet simple dinner, special enough for entertaining.   The curry paste can be quite spicy.  If this is a new ingredient for you, you may wish to use a little at a time, tasting to get the right amount of heat for your pallet.  This dish was too spicy for my son as is.  Next time I will set aside a bit of sauce without the curry paste so he can enjoy it as well.  Minus the heat, this is a very, very kid friendly meal!

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Fragrant Chicken Curry
recipe from The Ultimate Thai and Asian Cookbook by Deh-Hsiung, Becky Johnson and Sallie Morris

3 tablespoons oil
1 onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste (easily found in the asian aisle of your grocery store)
4 cups coconut milk (lite is fine)
2 lemon grass stalks, coarsely chopped
6 kaffir lime leaves, chopped (I omitted these because I couldn't find them at my grocer.  If you know where to get them, let me know!)
2/3 cup yogurt
2 tablespoons apricot jam
1 3-31/2 lb cooked chicken (a prepared rotisserie chicken works great here, I just boiled my chicken so I could have chicken broth for later in the week)
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
kaffir lime leaves, fresh cilantro and toasted, shredded coconut**, to garnish
cooked rice, to serve

Heat the oil in a large pan.  Add the garlic and onion and cook over low heat for 5-10 minutes until soft. Turn your heat up to medium and stir in the red curry paste.  Cook, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes.  Stir in the coconut milk, then add the lemon grass, lime leaves, yogurt and apricot jam.  Stir well.  Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cook slightly.  Transfer the sauce to a food processor or blender and process to a smooth consistency.  I used my blender on "liquify" for about 4-5 minutes to get velvety smooth.  Pour the sauce back into the pan and set aside while you prepare your chicken.

If using a whole chicken, remove the skin and slice the meat off the bones, cutting it into bite sized pieces. Add the chicken to the sauce.  Bring the sauce back up to a simmer.  Stir in the fresh cilantro and season with salt and pepper.  Garnish with extra lime leaves, shredded coconut and chopped cilantro.  Serve with rice.

**To Toast Coconut
Arrange shredded, sweetened coconut (found in the baking aisle) in a single layer of a baking sheet.  Bake, keeping a close eye, at 350 degrees for about 4-5 minutes. Coconut can go from perfectly toasted to burnt very quickly so don't walk away from the oven!  Allow to cool.  This adds a nice little crunch and the right amount of sweetness, balancing the spiciness of the curry paste.

Chicken in Creamy Tomato Curry: Chicken Tikka Masala

Last weekend our friends Matt and Adrianne had us over for dinner. I had mentioned that I had been in the mood for some spicy Indian food and so Adrianne came across this recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala by Aarti Sequeira. We both love Aartie and her show Aartie Party on Food Network, so she was pretty sure this dinner would be a hit. OH. MY. GOODNESS. I have found a brand new love. It is super spicy, creamy, rich and impossible to stop eating. Serve over rice and along side some wonderful Naan or crusty bread is essential for sopping up all the sauce. You don't want any of that stuff to go to waste. I loved it so much I made it myself that same week- which I never do. This recipe will be in constant rotation in our household for sure. LOVE, LOVE!

When Adrianne made this, she used the two Serano Chili's, seeded and deveined and it was clear-your-sinuses spicy!  We all loved it, but if you are sensitive to heat you may only want to use one instead of two. When I cooked the dish, my grocer didn't have Serano Chili's so I used two Jalepanos.  This produced pretty much no heat at all, but still a lovely flavor.  I was in the mood for heat so I added a bit of chili powder and a little cayenne pepper and that did the trick to kick it back up a notch.

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Chicken in Creamy Tomato Curry: Chicken Tikka Masala
recipe courtesy Aartie Sequeira

Marinade:
1 cup plain yogurt, whisked until smooth
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, put through a garlic press or finely minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into large bite-size chunks

Sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
2-inch thumb ginger, peeled and minced
2 serrano pepper, minced (seeds removed if you don't want it spicy)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garam masala
8 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups water
1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves, optional
1/2 cup heavy cream
Fresh cilantro leaves, minced
Serving suggestion: Cooked rice, warm naan bread or crusty bread.
For the marinade:

In large bowl, mix the yogurt, ginger, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Poke chicken with a fork, then add to marinade. Fold to cover and marinate at least 30 minutes, at most refrigerated overnight.

For the sauce:
When you're ready to make the curry, place a large skillet over medium heat, and add the butter and olive oil. When butter has melted, add the garlic, ginger, and serrano pepper. Saute until lightly browned around the edges.

Add the tomato paste and cook until the tomato has darkened in colour, about 3 minutes. Add the paprika and garam masala, and saute for about 1 minute to draw out their flavours.

Add the tomatoes, salt, and water. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer, and cover. Cook for 20 minutes. Take the pan off the fire, and allow the sauce to cool for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, fire up your broiler, and cover your broiler pan in foil. Pull the chicken thigh chunks out of the marinade and place on the sheet. Place under the broiler, and cook about 7 minutes on each side, until charred and cooked through. Cook's Note: Don't worry if the chicken is still a little uncooked, but very charred on the outside; you can finish cooking the chicken in the sauce.

Pour sauce into a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Pour back into the pan, and bring back up to a boil. Add the chicken and fenugreek leaves, if using. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook, covered, for about 10 minutes.

Add cream and stir through. Garnish with minced fresh cilantro if you like, and serve over rice, with naan or a crusty piece of bread!