Chicken Curry

Do you have certain friends you call when you have a yen for a particular kind of food?  Two of my friends love Indian food and are always up for it.  Others not so much.  So when one of them was here for a visit, I eagerly pulled out the curry and tried a new recipe.  I have to admit that I switched it up quite a bit.  I used Pensey's Sweet Curry, so while it had a touch of heat, it wasn't as hot as the original recipe which called for chili peppers. It makes a big pot full, so I'd be inclined to double the peas the next time I make it.  This recipe can also be prepared a day ahead of time which is always handy.

We liked it well enough to eat it twice, once over Forbidden Rice and once over cooked potatoes.  We thought it delicious both ways.  You'll see in the photos that we ate pineapple and broccoli with it.  I thought the pineapple added a nice fresh note to the curry.

Forbidden Rice is one of my new favorites.  How could anyone resist a food that's forbidden?  It has to be special!  Forbidden Rice is an intense dark purple that looks black.  Apparently, it was once reserved for Chinese Emperors.  Also called longevity rice, it's loaded with antioxidants.  So far it has been popular with everyone -- even my picky eaters!  It doesn't taste very different from white rice and is prepared the same way.  I buy it at my health food store.

Chicken Curry

1 chicken, cut up, bone in (I removed the skin)
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons curry
1 teapoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 onions, minced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 cup water
1 10-ounce package frozen peas
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons butter

Salt and pepper the chicken. In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and brown half the chicken pieces.  Save the browned chicken on a platter and brown the other half of the chicken pieces.  Remove when browned.

Add or pour off oil (whichever is necessary) so you have about two tablespoons left in the pan.  (Eyeball it!)  Add curry, garam masala, and ginger and cook over medium until fragrant, then immediately add the onions.  When they begin to soften, add the garlic, water, tomatoes, and a dash of salt.

(Note: you'll get some crusty bits off the bottom, that's okay!)

Return the chicken to the pot, cover and simmer one hour, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Remove the chicken and defat the liquid in a fat separator.  (Or if you want to cook ahead, you could refrigerate everything at this point and remove the fat from the liquid by scooping it off the top on the following day.)

Add the yogurt, frozen peas, and butter and cook about two minutes.  Spoon over chicken to serve.