Chicken Curry!

 History Behind the Recipe

I LOVE Indian food and I LOVE curry!!! Aaron, unfortunately, does not. But sometimes I get the opportunity to make it just for me, when he chooses to eat one of his favorites which I wont eat (mainly anything with cheese!). Believe it or not, this is actually the first time I've made curry on my own and it turned out great! I had plenty for leftovers and it was great for a cold day!

Recipe

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Curry Powder

2 Tbsp Water

1 Tsp Cumin

1 Tsp Cayenne pepper

3 Garlic cloves, minced

1 Tsp Tomato Paste (I didn't have any when I made this recipe so I simply subbed some ketchup and fire roasted tomatoes in its place)

3/4 Tsp Kosher salt

1/4 Tbsp Black Pepper (freshly ground)

1 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

3/4 of a Large onion, chopped

1 Potato, skin on, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 cup of carrots, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 cup of celery, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 Tbsp of jalapeno or Serrano pepper, diced (you can use bell pepper if you prefer a milder flavor to your curry) 

6 chicken tenderloins (or 1.5 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken of your choice), cut into 1 inch cubes

1 cup Chicken broth (low sodium)

1 Tomato chicken bouillon cube

1 handful of washed cilantro

2 cups of rice, white, brown or rice pilaf works, 1 cup of water (should be enough for 4 people)

Hardware:

Knife 

Cutting board (one for chicken and one for veggies)

2 bowls (1 for spice mixture and one for serving)

Tbsp, Tsp and cup measures

1 wooden spoon for mixing

Rice cooker (or pot for cooking rice)

Large pot or skillet (for curry)

Method:

1. Combine the first 8 ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

2. Cube onion, potato, carrots, celery and chicken. Dice jalapenos.

3. Place the large pot over medium heat and add the 1 tbsp of olive oil  and onions and sauté until tender, usually about 3 to 4 minutes.

4. Add spice mixture to the onions and sauté another minute.

5. Add potato, carrots, celery, chicken and jalapenos to the pot and combine with the onions and spice mixture. Make sure to coat all the vegetables with the spice mixture.

6. Add the chicken broth and tomato chicken bouillon cube to the pot and bring to a boil then reduce to simmer and cover. (Make sure there is enough broth mixture to cover the veggies and meat, if there isn't add a little more broth and add a dash or two of all the other spices to make sure it doesn't become watered out.)

7. Start rice in rice cooker or another pot ( rice is usually two to one, so for every cup of rice add two cups of water).

7. Simmer curry for 30 minutes, until veggies are fork tender, stirring occasionally to prevent against sticking at the bottom. Taste curry and season as needed. Add 3/4 of cilantro and stir in, reserve a little for topping the curry.

8. Serve warm over rice and top with remaining cilantro.

Enjoy!

P.S. When saving extras, I usually keep the curry separate from the rice. Curry can be refrigerated up to a week or frozen for longer.