Tag: Curry

2022 World Cuisine Tour (Chicken) 3-12-22

On By Heather HoustonIn 2022 World Cuisine Tour (Chicken)Leave a comment

March 12th, 2022: Maldivian Chicken Curry (Maldives)

“The country randomizer selected Maldives. Maldivian Chicken Curry is on the menu…I had to first figure out exactly where the Maldives are….then I realized, “oh, it’s close to Sri Lanka!”

So this should be interesting.

The recipe is pretty straight forward, and the curry quite mild. You start off with an onion chopped or sliced and sauté it in a little vegetable oil gently for about 10-minutes, add a pile of finely chopped garlic and ginger and two hot green peppers (we used Soriano and jalapeño). When that has cooked down you add the spices. Mild chili powder, mild curry powder, turmeric, cumin, curry leaves (we used bay leaves), and cinnamon sticks. For a little more heat I added a little peri peri, cayenne pepper and some Sri Lanka curry powder (which is black pepper based). All that cooks down then you add a little tomato purée and water (I added chicken stock). When that’s simmering, in goes the skinless chicken thighs bone in, and it cooks covered for 45 minutes. Next you add a can of coconut milk, bring it to a boil and then serve it over rice dressed with some coconut.

What truly satisfying curry. Really savory and mild with just a little heat. Not sure how hot it was, we put some yogurt on the plate to cool it down.

Top marks for this one!”

Chef Chasan Recipe Notes
Flag of Maldives
Map of Maldives

Maldivian Chicken Curry

  • Prep Time: 20-minutes
  • Total Time: 1-hour 25-minutes
  • Serves: 6

Maldivian Chicken Curry Ingredients:

  • 3 T. vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 10 cardamom pods, split
  • 6-8 cloves
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 15g ginger, peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 large green chilli (1 serrano & 1 jalapeno), sliced
  • 10 fresh or dried curry leaves or bay leaves
  • 2 tsp. mild chilli powder
  • 2 T. mild curry powder & some Sri Lanka Curry Powder
  • 2 tsp. turmeric
  • 2 tsp. ground cumin
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 3 T. tomato purée
  • 6 chicken thighs, skin removed
  • 1 x 400-ml. tin coconut milk
  • peri peri, to taste
  • cayenne pepper, to taste
  • a handful coconut flakes, toasted, to serve

Maldivian Chicken Curry Directions:

  1. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and cook gently for 10-minutes. Put the cardamom and cloves on a small square of muslin and tie with string to make a pouch.
  2. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli and curry leaves to the onions, and cook for a few minutes, stirring.
  3. Add the chilli powder, curry powder, turmeric, cumin and cinnamon sticks; stir for 2-3 minutes until the mixture becomes fragrant.
  4. Add the tomato purée and 1 tsp. of salt, cook for a few minutes, then stir in 500-ml. water and the spice pouch. Bring to a simmer.
  5. Add the chicken, bring back to simmering point, cover and leave to simmer gently for 40-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
  6. Add the coconut milk; bring back to a simmer. Season, sprinkle with coconut flakes and serve with rice.

2022 World Cuisine Tour (Chicken) 2-26-22

On By Heather HoustonIn 2022 World Cuisine Tour (Chicken)Leave a comment

February 26th, 2022: Sri Lanka Chicken Curry (Sri Lanka)

“Todays World Tour of Chicken dishes takes us to Sri Lanka where their version of spicy chicken curry seems to be the national dish! Exciting!

The curry is hot. The chicken falls off the bone. The sauce thickened and the flavors intensified. Definitely needed a dollop of sour cream to cut the heat. But even so, absolutely delicious!”

Chef Chasan Recipe Notes
Flag of Sri Lanka
Map of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Roasted Curry Powder

  • Prep Time: 20-minutes
  • Cook Time: 5-minutes
  • Total Time: 25-minutes
  • Serves: 4

Sri Lanka Roasted Curry Powder Ingredients:

  • 4 T. coriander seeds
  • 3 T. cumin seeds
  • 2 T. black peppercorns
  • 2 T. basmati rice
  • 1 T. black mustard seeds
  • 3 tsp. whole cloves, large about 15 cloves
  • 2 tsp. scant, cardamom seeds from green cardamom seeds from the pods
  • 1 tsp. fennel seeds

Sri Lanka Roasted Curry Powder Directions:

  1. Place the rice on a dry non stick pan. Heat over medium heat until the rice starts to turn light brown.
  2. Add the rest of the spices and pan roast for a further 3 – 5 minutes until the spices start to brown, toast and become aromatic.
  3. Keep moving the pan to prevent the spices from burning. Also adjust the cook times according to your stove and pan, to avoid burning the spices. Or your curry powder will be bitter.
  4. Remove from the heat and let the spices cool down.
  5. Once the spices cool down – use a spice grinder (or a mortar and pestle) to grind the spice mix into a powder in batches and mix well. Store in an air tight container.
  6. Use as needed.

Sri Lanka Chicken Curry Ingredients:

  • 2-3 T. coconut oil
  • 1/2 onion yellow or red, diced or sliced.
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 inch ginger minced
  • 6 – 7 curry leaves or 2 bay leaves
  • 2.5 T. roasted Sri Lankan curry powder
  • 1 cinnamon stick or 1 small regular cinnamon stick
  • 1/2 tsp. salt plus more to taste
  • 1 tsp. cayenne pepper or chili powder (less if you like it less spicy.)
  • 1 T. paprika not smoked or sweet paprika
  • 8 chicken thighs
  • 2 serrano peppers (or regular green chili) cut length-wise, with or without seeds
  • 3 roma tomatoes cut into cubes (or 2 medium-sized regular tomatoes)
  • 2 tsp. brown sugar
  • 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
  • 1 c. coconut milk
  • 1/2 c. water

Directions:

  1. Add the coconut oil in to a large saucepan and heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger to the heated oil and cook until softened.
  2. Add curry powder, chili powder/cayenne pepper, paprika, cinnamon, curry leaves and mix to combine. Cook for a few minutes until you start to smell the spices.
  3. Add the chicken, serrano peppers/green chili peppers, salt, 3 roma tomatoes, 1 tsp sugar, and mix to coat. Cook for 10-minutes with the lid off, on medium high heat. Stir frequently to make sure the chicken or the spices don’t burn.
  4. Add coconut milk, water, vinegar, and bring the curry to a boil. If you want less gravy, add less liquid.
  5. Lower the heat, and let it simmer with the lid closed, for 15 – 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt to taste. The chicken should be completely cooked by this point. Taste the curry and season to taste if needed. You can add the rest of the sugar or more salt, or vinegar to your taste. Remember that curries can be adjusted to your taste!
  6. If the chicken curry gravy is too thin, or there’s too much of it, uncover and simmer the curry for a further 10-minutes or longer. This step is optional, but it will allow the water to evaporate and the gravy to thicken.
  7. Turn off the heat and let the chicken cool down slightly. Serve with rice or roti. You may add a side of yogurt to add as needed if the curry is too hot.

2022 World Cuisine Tour (Chicken) 2-19-22

On By Heather HoustonIn 2022 World Cuisine Tour (Chicken)Leave a comment

February 19th, 2022: Martinique Coconut Chicken Curry (Martinique)

“Our world chicken tour took us to the Caribbean island of Martinique for tonight’s meal: Martinique Coconut Chicken Curry meal. It’s an interesting meal because I’m used to Indian and Korean curries but I’m excited to see how it turns out!

Pre-dinner drink to enjoy while cooking a Malibu Bay Breeze, basically equal parts rum, pineapple and cranberry juice. Yummy. We drank those then listened to Caribbean beach music while we cooked.

The most interesting part of the meal was the curry paste. A mortar and pestle were used to turn mustard seed, fresh garlic, coriander, sea salt and a habanero pepper (no scotch bonnet to be found) into a paste.

The chicken was browned in a little oil, and then onion, eggplant, butternut squash and potato were browned in the same pot. The curry paste was added, Eventually you add the chicken back along with coconut milk, tamarind paste, chicken stock and bay leaves.

It simmers for almost 40-minutes covered, then I took the chicken out, and cooked the sauce down to thicken it and concentrate flavor.

Then I added back the chicken along with fresh mango and papaya, lime juice and rum. You let the fruit warm up and the alcohol cook off.

We served it over coconut rice with some toasted dried coconut as a garnish.

It was a yummy meal filled with umami and flavor. And the curry was mild but quite good. I really enjoyed this.

I’m going to purée the sauce and run it through a sieve to try a variation.”

Chef Chasan Recipe Notes
Flag of Martinique
Map of Martinique
  • Prep Time: 25-minutes
  • Total Time: 1-hour 15-minutes
  • Serves: 6

Spice Mix

Ingredients:

  • 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 to 1 hot red chile, preferably Scotch Bonnet, seeded (wear gloves)
  • 1 tsp. sea salt flakes
  • 1 tsp. ground coriander
  • 1 tsp. yellow mustard seeds
  • 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric

Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

  • 4 T. sunflower or groundnut oil (peanut)
  • 5 chicken pieces, preferably thighs
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 18 oz. butternut squash, peeled and diced into 2-inch cubes
  • 2 onions, coarsely chopped
  • 1 eggplant, diced into 1 1/2-inch cubes
  • 2 to 3 large white potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
  • 3 small bay leaves
  • 1-3/4 c. coconut milk
  • 1-1/4 c. chicken bone stock
  • 1 T. tamarind paste
  • 1 large ripe mango, peeled and chopped into 2-inch chunks
  • 1 large ripe papaya, peeled and sliced
  • Juice of 1/2 lime
  • 1 1/2 T. rum or coconut rum (Malibu)

Directions:

  1. Using a mortar and pestle, combine the garlic, chile, salt, coriander, mustard seeds, and turmeric, and grind into a paste.
  2. Heat 2 T. of the oil in a large ovenproof casserole or heavy-bottomed saucepan. Season the chicken with salt, and black pepper, and brown the pieces on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pan, and set aside. Add the remaining oil, and cook the squash, onions, eggplants, and potatoes.
  3. Once the vegetables begin to soften and brown, sprinkle in the spice mix, and cook, stirring continuously, for 4-minutes to release the fragrance of the spices. Return the chicken to the casserole dish, and add the bay leaves, coconut milk, chicken stock, and tamarind paste.
  4. Bring the ingredients to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, and cover. Cook until the chicken is tender and cooked through, about 40-minutes. About 5-minutes before serving, stir in the mango, papaya, lime juice, and rum, if using. Stir the mixture to incorporate, then cover, and cook until the fruit is hot. Adjust the salt, and pepper, if necessary, and serve with some boiled rice.