Happy National Curried Chicken Day! Do you want to develop foreign, complex flavors on a weeknight? Well, have I got a recipe for you! This is another gem I found in The Immigrant Cookbook, which you can learn more about at the “My Pick of the Month” section on the main landing page. This one needed very minimal adjustment.
I like traditional (longer, diy-style) methods when I cook. Everything today is a bit too fast, especially at the expense of depth. This recipe, however, hits the sweet spot between fast and flavorful. Instead of reaching for a pre-made curry seasoning mix, you develop your own. The beauty of this is that, over time, as you become more intimately attuned to each spice characteristic, you can tweak the mix to suit your flavor profile - making your own personal curry blend. What’s more adventurous and exciting than that?! This is a hotter curry - with a teaspoon of cayenne pepper! I was worried it might be too hot; but, it wasn’t. This is a middle-to-back-of-tongue heat, not a tip-of-your-tongue assault kind of heat. The warmth of the accompanying spices also help bring down the peppery notes of the cayenne.
This is a dish where you need to practice a little mise-en-place. Be sure that you have your whole masala and ground masala set-up in prep bowls along with peeling/slicing the onions, and preparing the other aromatics before you even heat up your pan. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.
Chicken Curry Chicken Dahiwala, adapted from The Immigrant Cookbook, Roni Mazumdar
This recipe originally calls for 3 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs - which is A LOT of chicken and kind of overcrowds the pan and takes up a little too much of the curry broth. I’ve reduced it to 2 lbs. You can also sub-in chicken breast, but I always prefer the additional flavor that thighs bring to any dish. One other thing, and I rarely say this, don’t pre-season your chicken with salt or pepper, this is a very flavorful dish on its own and the meat will soak up the wonderful seasoning while cooking.
Whole masala*
Ground masala^^
¼ cup of vegetable oil
1 tbsp of freshly grated ginger
3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of any excess fat
2 cups of water
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 heaping tbsp of greek, or other plain yogurt, lightly whisked
Fresh cilantro, minced
*Whole Masala
3 bay leaves
3 cloves
4 cardamom pods, cracked (pound them with a knife, until they just split open)
5 black peppercorns
Cinnamon stick
½ tsp cumin seeds
^^Ground Masala
1 tsp each of ground: turmeric, cumin, cayenne pepper, coriander, and garam masala
Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add in the whole masala, stirring occasionally, toasting the spices for about 2-3 minutes. Then stir in the ginger and garlic until fragrant, for about a minute, then add the onions and 2 tsp of salt and sauté for about 5 minutes.
Stir in the ground masala until it is toasted and fragrant (30-60 seconds). Add the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add in the chicken, returning the heat to medium, and cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, make a little space in the center of the pan and stir in the tomato paste and continue to cook the chicken until done, about another 5-10 minutes.
Once the chicken is completely cooked, make another space in the middle of the pan and slowly stir in the yogurt for a minute, then turn off the heat and continue stirring until it is fully incorporated.
Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with basmati rice.
_____________________________________________ Copyright 2021, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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