See my friends and fellow bloggers, I can make more than desserts! I made curry, and not just any but a fantastically bastardized chicken curry. But, wait your thinking… what do you mean bastardized? I have always wanted to make my own curry but problem is.. I have never made a curry other then a potato one years and years ago.
I have seen them made a number of times on TV shows (MasterChef Australia to name but one), and read so many recipes on blogs and food sites it makes my head explode with knowledge. I know the ‘real’ way to make curries is to have fresh whole spices and toast them and then grind them, and well honestly, when I came up with this I was on a budget and tired, and feeling lazy but wanted something full of flavor and spice, and I think I achieved all the points I was going for. Full of flavor, quick, easy, and all the ingredients are something I always keep on hand. And the best part? The leftovers are even better the next day!
I know, some of you are reading this tossing your arms up in the air screaming and swearing at your monitor or phone as you read this… “This isn’t a real curry!” “What is this abomination!” “Damn Americans!” Trust me, I have prepared myself for an onslaught of comments as to how I ruined a great dish, but hear me out and give try this first.
I even further bastardized this dish, I know some of you are thinking, “Impossible! This is already offensive enough!” But it’s true, I did. I use the basic boule recipe from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day
I have made this three times since I first got brave and started pulling spices out of my cupboards and tossing them in the pan, it really is pretty fantastic with Jasmine rice. I hope you give this a shot, it really is pretty damn good.
Quick and Dirty Chicken Curry
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Yield: 2 to 3 servings
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground fennel
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 small bundle of coriander (aka cilantro), stems only minced
- 2 tbsp clarified butter
- 1 lb chicken breasts, cubed
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 shallots, minced
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 2 tbsp brown mustard
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 14 oz Coconut Milk
- Juice of half a lime
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine the curry powder, ground coriander, ground cumin, ground fennel, pepper, red pepper flakes, and salt. Stir to combine the spices and set aside.
- Wash and pat dry a small bundle of coriander (aka cilantro). Chop the bundle in half with one side mostly stems and the other the leaves. Don’t fret if you get some leaves in the stem side it’s not the end of the world you just want to get the majority of the stems as they have a lot of flavor. Tightly bundle the stems together and mince finely, set aside.
- Place a large saute pan over medium-high heat add the clarified butter and brown the chicken. Don’t worry if it doesn’t cook completely through, this is just to add some color. Turn the pan down to medium heat. Add a tbsp more of the clarified butter to saute the garlic, ginger and shallots until transparent.
- Add in the spice mix, mustard, and tomato paste. Cook for 1-2 minutes until a thick paste forms.
- Deglaze the pan with the chicken stock. It will simmer out quickly. This is just to thin out the paste a bit. Stir quickly to remove the paste from the bottom of the pan (those are the yummy caramelized bits). Add in the coconut milk, stirring well until you end up with a nice creamy mixture.
- Bring the curry up to a simmer and add in the minced coriander stems. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, taste and add more salt if desired.
- Remove from heat, and stir in the juice of 1/2 a lime. Serve warm sprinkled with fresh coriander, and a side of naan bread and jasmine rice.
Y U NO MAKE CURRY CUPCAKE?!
No, I’m just kidding (although I’m thinking a curry cupcake would be an interesting, but probably disgusting experiment) – Looks great, and I don’t think there’s anything “bastardized” about it to be honest. The only thing I’d change is replacing the chicken with shrimps, but that’s a personal taste thing. I will say though that curry paste is an awesome replacement for curry powder. One jar of decent paste will last nearly as long – you don’t need much, just a couple of teaspoons per curry or something – the flavour is much more rounded and full.
This looks fantastic. I love your idea for the pita too and thanks for the shout out!
Gotta love a recipe with “quick and dirty” in the title! It looks and sounds delicious! I can never stick with a recipe just as written either. Recipe bastardizers unite!
I’m in the midst of making this and noticed that you said add coconut milk but the recipe ingredients does not include coconut milk! Argh!
Holy Crap! I am so sorry, funny thing is I made this for dinner last night too and never noticed. Immediate change! I am so sorry.