Curries. I love ’em. Thai, Indian, African – vegetarian or otherwise – they’re all so good. These perfectly spiced stews with complex flavors are one of my favorite meals. Truth be told, I haven’t had much luck making curry dishes at home. Inspired by some of my favorite dishes at local Indian or Ethiopian restaurants, my homemade versions always fall short of my expectations. Too spicy, too sweet or just missing some esoteric ingredient I can’t put my finger on, my curries have been edible but disappointing to say the least.
What’s even more frustrating is the time and super-long list of ingredients invested in making a fine curry. I seriously have more fenugreek seeds, cardamom pods and Garam Masala powder than I know what to do with. Buying in bulk at my local Indian grocery store seemed like the most cost-effective and logical approach…
After a recent inventory of my spice drawer, I felt it was time to give some homemade curry another chance. Maybe if I made a recipe that I had never eaten before, I wouldn’t be disappointed as there was no point of reference? Brilliant.
I do have a great Indian cookbook that I referenced for my very first recipe, but I remembered another cookbook in my collection that listed several curry dishes. The Africa News Cookbook is another book of mysterious origin. I seem to remember borrowing it from someone years ago but can’t remember who. I remember briefly looking through this book for an Injera (Ethiopian flat bread) recipe but never got around to actually making that or anything else. So, like many other books in my collection, it sat unused, neglected (and unreturned to its rightful owner) on my bookshelf until this project.
I decided to make the Quick Chicken Curry Kurma of South African origin. This recipe caught my eye because it promised to be quick and had relatively few ingredients, most of which where already in my possession! Here’s the recipe:
1 chicken, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
1 large onion, sliced
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 stick cinnamon
2 cardamom pods
2 small chili peppers
1 cup of water or chicken stock
salt and pepper
Now I’m overzealous in the kitchen and also fairly frugal, so typically buy whole chickens, rather than parts, when they are on sale. For recipes like this, I just break down a whole chicken myself. Whole chickens are so much cheaper and are also great to have around for roasting whole or making AMAZING chicken stock (with the addition of a few chicken feet, of course). I am absolutely NOT formally trained in chicken butchery and have just taught myself how to do this by watching videos or reading cookbooks. You can see how I take down a chicken here, or find other -likely more accurate- resources on the world-wide web. Another option… just buy the chicken parts at your local butcher or grocery store. I don’t expect everyone to be as crazy as me!
Cutting up the chicken was the hardest part of this recipe but not even really that hard. It’s a good skill to have and one that I hope to improve on for sure! If you’re in a hurry, I would just opt for the pre-cut chicken pieces but would recommend finding bone-in since the bones help to give the sauce a richness and impart valuable minerals and gelatin, not to mention killer flavor! As always, find the best quality chicken you can afford. I like to get organic, pasure-raised chicken and stock up when they’re on sale.
Now for the rest of the ingredients! Pre-measure all of your dry spices and set those aside.
Slice up your onion.
And garlic.
Grate the fresh ginger or mince it finely. I got this really cool ceramic grater years ago and it’s perfect for grating up ginger and other super-fibrous foods. I don’t really even bother peeling the ginger.
In a large, heavy pot add the ghee (or other fat of your choice) over medium-high heat. If you’ve never used ghee before, you should run out and buy some right away! It has a high smoke point, great for pan frying, but is also super tasty! It’s like butter-squared. It’s very digestible (because the lactose from the milk solids has been removed) and is also available in a cultured variety, for even better digestion. I’m addicted to this stuff.
Brown your chicken pieces in batches. I did this to render some of the fat out of the chicken and add a little more flavor to the curry. Since this is a stew and the chicken skin wasn’t going to stay crisp, I made an executive decision to eat some of the skin at its height of flavor and texture. This isn’t mentioned in the original recipe but it just seemed right.
Once all of the chicken is browned and set aside, add the onions, garlic and spices to the pot.
Next, add chicken pieces and cook, stirring constantly until contents are steaming. Reduce heat and add liquid. I used some chicken stock I had on hand but water is what the recipe called for. Cover and simmer until chicken is done.
The curry is done once the bones are easily removed from the chicken meat. I let my curry cook on the stove for a few hours but it was done much sooner than that. Here’s what you’re looking for:
If you can pull a bone out and it looks this clean, your curry is done!
The truth is, this and many other curries I have enjoyed over the years just don’t look pretty. There’s no way to style a pot of chicken meat and bones to make it look really appetizing but never you worry, this dish is a winner! I served it over a batch of Yellow Quinoa (up next) and some pan seared greens. It had a really complex flavor and was a welcome change to the usual disappointment I feel when attempting homemade curries.
This is a great way to stretch out a whole chicken and the perfect use for those cinnamon sticks we all have hanging around our pantries, likely from some cider mulling recipe we never followed through with from the holidays. If you are following a Paleo lifestyle, this recipe packs a ton of flavor with none of the no-nos. Skip the quinoa and serve this on a bed of steamed greens! This would be a great crock-pot meal for my friends who don’t want to deal with the stove.
I’ve never ordered anything like this from a menu but am so happy I gave this one a try and can finally make a decent curry in my own home. It’s not Chicken Tikka Masala, or Massaman Curry but it’s fantastic and will definitely make another appearance on my dining table sooner rather than later.
By the way, if this is your cookbook I have, ahem, borrowed, please let me know and I’ll send you a new one!
100 First Tastes 