CHICKEN CURRY WITH GENTLE SPICES
CURRY PASTE
- 1 large onion, cut in half
- 6 large garlic cloves
- One 3-inch piece fresh peeled ginger
- Generous ½ tablespoon Crossover Spice Blend, or a blend of ground coriander, ground cumin, and fresh-ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 medium-sized ripe tomatoes; or 3 or 4 canned tomatoes
- 1 or 2 jalapeños, stemmed and seeded (or not, if you like it hot)
- ½ cup water
- Cold-pressed vegetable oil
- 2 cups organic plain whole-milk yogurt
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (organic if possible), cut into bite-sized pieces
- ⅓ cup water
- Salt and fresh-ground black pepper
- 2 tight-packed tablespoons fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Instructions:
The term “curry” conjures images of sturdy sauces dense with spice, and some are just that. But they can also be light, fresh, and surprisingly gentle in their spicing.
- In a food processor, combine one of the onion halves with the garlic, ginger, spice blend, salt, cinnamon, tomatoes, jalapeño, and the ½ cup water. Puree, and set aside.
- Thin-slice the remaining onion half. Film the bottom of a straight-sided 12-inch sauté pan with the oil, and heat it over medium-high heat. Add the sliced onion, and sauté until it begins to color. Add the curry paste, reduce the heat to medium, and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spatula, until the oil separates from the curry. Don’t rush this step. Thoroughly sautéing the curry paste sets up the foundation of the dish.
- Blend ⅔ cup of the yogurt into the curry sauce and simmer, stirring and scraping up the curry paste from the bottom of the pan, until the yogurt thickens and then nearly cooks away, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in the chicken, and add the remaining yogurt and the ⅓ cup water. Bring the mixture to a slow simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 8 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
- Lift the chicken out of the pan with a slotted spoon, and place it in a serving bowl. Raise the heat until the sauce is boiling. Boil it down until once again it is so thick that the oil separates from the curry paste. Taste the sauce for seasoning, and pour it over the chicken. Sprinkle the curry with the fresh coriander.