Curried Chicken

This recipe for curried chicken allegedly came out of the Bombay Jews.  I'm nicking it from this cookbook my dad has.  Stay with me here because there are a lot of ingredients.  I know, not easy, but SO worth the effort.  It's not hard - it's essentially a stew after all - but it's not salad.  

- oil to sautee 

- 2 med. chopped onions

- 1 lb chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned, should be ~ 3 cups; I've used pureed tomatoes from a can and everyone loves it)

- 1 tblsp basic green masala (I'll post this below)

- 1 tsp garam masala

- 1 tsp dry masala for meat (posted below)

- 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

- 1/2 tsp turmeric

- salt to taste

- 3 1/2 lbs chicken, skinned with excess fat trimmed off (I like thighs and drumsticks on the bone, but you can use whatever you want)

- 1/2 c water

- 2 medium potatoes, cubed.

- Stirfry onions in oil until brown but not burned.  Add tomatoes and stir briskly for 2 min, cover and cook for 10 minutes.

- Add all three masalas and spices (ginger and turmeric and salt), stirring for 5 minutes.

- Add in chicken and water, cover and cook ~45 minutes until chicken is done.  If water evaporates too fast, add more.  

- Add potatoes, simmer until they're tender, ~15 minutes.

About the spices... buy garam masala at your local Indian grocery.  

Dry Masala for Meat:

1 tblsp hot chili flakes

1 tblsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp ground anise seed

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

Mix and store.  This will obv. last a while...

Green Masala

4 oz fresh cilantro leaves

1 head of garlic, ~8 cloves

4-6 oz semihot green chili

1/2 tsp salt

Blenderize and put in the fridge.  You don't have to make the above for one batch of curried chicken.  Just chop a tbsp worth of cilantro and garlic.  Then throw in as much chili as you want. 

I know the recipe seems like a big deal, but dude.  It is so tasty.  I think of it in three stages, the sautee, the spices, and the simmering.  The onions and tomato are the sautee, all the spices are next, and then the chicken goes in (followed by the potatoes) which is the simmer.  Serve it over rice, basmati if you have it.  You can leave out the meat for a vegetarian crowd and use several cans of beans instead.  I've never tried it with tofu or tempeh, but I doubt that'll be bad.  If you want to control the heat, leave out the chili flakes in the masala for meat.  (NB: Masalas are just spice blends.)  You can also ratchet up the heat by tossing in more chili.  Even sans capsaicin, it's very flavorful.  I made it with just the slightest hint of heat, and it was good for everyone, with minced fresh cayenne peppers on the side (from my mom's garden, of course!).  

This is one of my favorite things to eat.  Try it.  :)