The family has never had good Indian food and I am looking for good homemade curried chicken recipe so that they can explore the flavor. I found a good curry spice mix so I’m set there.
I won a contest some years ago with this recipe which came from a geochemist who had immigrated to Canada from Bombay.
If you can avoid using the curry mix, do so.
cut back on the ground chili if you don’t want it too “hot”
2 lb chicken pieces. boneless skinned thighs and legs work well
2 medium onions chopped fine
4 medium tomatoes cut up
3 cloves garlic
2 inch piece fresh ginger,
1 tbl unsweetened grated coconut
1 tbl corriander seed
2 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground chilis
1/4 tsp each:
cardamom seed
cloves
black pepper
cinnamon
salt to taste
chop onions (I use a food processor)
saute onions and coconut in a couple of tbl oil 'til they start to colour
add garlic/ginger grated, continue frying a minute or two
add spices, gound fine. I roast corriander and cumin in a dry skillet until fragrant, then grind them
fry gently another minute or two making sure mixture doesn’t stick/scorch
add some salt (not too much as it will concentrate)
add tomatoes and cook down until all the water is driven off and oil is seperating
add the chicken and cook until the outside of the meat is sealed
add 1 cup water and simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce is thickened add water as required.
garnish with chopped fresh cilantro (or not)
I consider Madhur Jaffrey to be the golden standard for tasty Indian cooking. If you use one of her recipes, DO follow her directions… add things in the order she says, brown things if she says so, fry spices if she says so, etc. She gives every one of her instructions for a very good reason.
Here’s my very basic recipe. It doesn’t correspond to any particular dish, but is a good way to concentrate on just the curry spices. Usually I extend the recipe to make a sauce using yogurt, adding something sweet like chunks of apple or tomatoes, along with parsley and sometimes peas or green beans. Like longPath, I like to start with individual spices, but there are also good curry powders available. I like the richer flavor of chicken with bones and skin included, but I’ve used white meat only as well. It’s all good.